


Along the way

by TheDalmatian



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Death Threats, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Fluff, Everyone else is just a minor character - Freeform, Gangs, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Torture, It's mostly DnP, Kidnapping, M/M, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Post-Apocalypse, Post-War, Slow Burn, Strong Language, Threats of Violence, Violence, backstories, dead bodies, gang!Dan, gang!Phil, past emotional abuse, war topics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-03-06 16:07:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 36,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13414812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDalmatian/pseuds/TheDalmatian
Summary: After the nuclear war, the world was left in destruction and anarchy. Without any government left in Great Britain, a multitude of gangs rose that now fight each other for power over the different cities. When Dan gets kidnapped by his rival gang he deems his life to be over. But then fate makes him and his kidnapper Phil spend some alone time together and they find something in each other they didn't even know they were missing. Maybe even in this doomed world there still is something to live for...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first fanfic here, I hope you enjoy :) All feedback (positive or negative) is much appreciated!

It was a quiet night at the pub. Dan didn't mind. In fact, he enjoyed the calm atmosphere that lightly filled the room and allowed his tense muscles to relax a bit. It had been a tough day for him. Each day that he was _on duty_ for the Dragons was hard and today had been no exception. Some newly formed gang had thought they could play with the big kids and claimed some territories in the south of the city for them. Dragon territory. They should have known better. The 'Fire Dragons', as they called themselves, were famous for being violent and ruthless with their enemies and such provocation had to be paid for. Dan took a big gulp of his beer as he recalled the scenes he had witnessed – that he had _contributed to_ earlier. He shuddered as he sat his glass down, forcing his mind off those memories.

A fresh breeze ruffled his curly hair as the door opened and a man that Dan had never seen before entered the pub. He was tall, maybe even as tall as Dan, but his hair was straight and black, his side-swept fringe neatly covering most of his forehead. A bit disorientated at first he looked around, taking the room and its old wooden furniture in, before making his way to the bar with careful yet confident steps. Dan watched from his corner table as the man sat down and exchanged a few words with the barman – probably ordering something to drink – and then proceeded to curiously look around some more.

Dan on the other hand did not take his eyes off the stranger. It was rare to see an unknown face around here, making him slightly suspicious of the man's motives. But there was another voice in Dan's head, fuelled by the nearly three pints of beer he'd had so far, a voice that pointed out how nice the newcomer's ass looked in those jeans. 

The stranger got his drink. He smiled brightly at the barman – damn, how could he suddenly look so _cute_ – and unsuccessfully tried to start a conversation with him. Dan couldn't help but grin at his efforts. All the locals knew that the barman here was a grumpy, quiet man – just another reason why Dan liked this particular pub so much. The mysterious newbie definitely wasn't from around here.

The grin was still on his face when the man at the bar, clearly disappointed at his wasted efforts, let his gaze wander once again and his eyes met Dan's. Dan froze. He was used to being the silent observer, this had been his role for the past years ever since he started coming here regularly. He never got noticed by anyone and that's why he relished those nights so much. Being outside, being part of something and yet not having to pretend because no one took notice of him, that's what he truly needed to be at ease. Never had there been a night where this habit had been broken. But then again, he should have expected tonight to be different the moment this stranger had walked in. There was an aura around him that just didn't seem to fit in here.

Neither of them broke the eye contact for several seconds, until the black-haired man flashed his charming smile again and Dan quickly looked away. But it was too late. The man stood up from his bar stool, grabbed his drink and made his way over to the small corner table Dan sat at. Dan panicked slightly. He hated small talk and this night seemed to take a turn that would prevent his well-deserved break from any social interaction after his already stressful day. But then there was this voice again, pointing out to him that if he _had_ to choose someone to talk to from all the people in this room, it would be the intriguing man with the cute smile.

“Is this seat taken?” The stranger's voice was deeper than Dan had expected. Despite only having heard one short sentence, Dan couldn't help but thinking that he could listen to this voice for hours. Dan looked up and met the other man's eyes once again. Now that he was so much closer, he could make out their soft blue colour with a hint of something that Dan couldn't quite identify. Dan knew this was his last chance to save his night and get rid the other person. But the alcohol put him more at ease than he usually was and his curiosity slowly won over.

“I'm not someone who usually has company here. So please” Dan gestured at the empty chair across from him “if you think you are worth my time, have a seat.” Dan didn't care about being cocky or rude. A part of him still wished for the other person to take offence and leave, so Dan was not in the mood for being polite. Even if he couldn't help shooting quick glances at those really sexy hips every now and then.

The stranger just grinned and sat down. “I'll take the challenge” he replied. He rested his chin on one hand and turned his head slightly, while never breaking eye contact with Dan. God, this stare. Dan's heartbeat sped up slightly and he started to feel a tingling sensation in his body travelling south. Not that he would show any of this though, he was always one to play it cool for as long as possible.

The black-haired man decided to break the short silence that had fallen between them. “So you come here often?” he asked, tilting his head even a bit more.

Dan raised his eyebrows. “For someone who claims to be interesting your conversation starters are quite lame I must say.”

The man in front of him chuckled. “I'm sorry, I am lousy at starting a conversation. Maybe that's why the barman just gave me angry glares the entire time I tried talking to him” he admitted. “I promise I'm more entertaining once we've come to the middle part of conversation though. If you just give me a chance.” His stare that he had still not broken once since he had come to the table became somewhat expecting, almost pleading. Dan hated how those little things had such a great effect on him. The stranger had him wrapped around his finger already.

Dan took a big breath, as if he had to consider. “Well, fine then. I have high expectations now.” It was a miserable attempt to keep the upper hand. “And yes, I do come here quite often. I live nearby. I've never seen you around here though.”

The other man's grin widened. “I promise you won't regret it. I'm Greg by the way” He extended his hand for Dan to shake it. Dan muttered his own name and took it, feeling the soft grip of the other, slightly colder hand against his own. _Greg_ , he thought, _what a sexy name_. “And yes you wouldn't have seen me around before, I just moved here”

Dan was actually surprised by that. Moving was uncommon since there was rarely a reason for it. Ever since the Great War, most houses were in miserable condition and the most habitable ones were usually claimed by whatever gang was in control of that area at the moment, to be occupied by gang members. Being part of a gang was tough and most of the time Dan hated it, but never having to worry about being homeless was one of the benefits he enjoyed. People without any gang membership – and Greg didn't look like he was part of a gang with the bright green button-up shirt he was wearing and the look of innocence on his face – had to take whatever was left. If you were lucky enough to have a solid roof over your head, you wouldn't normally risk giving it up. “How come?”, he asked, genuinely curious now.

Greg took a sip from his beer before answering, breaking eye contact at last. “I'm from Chelmsford. You've probably heard about the massive gang wars happening there right now.” Dan hadn't but didn't want to admit it to the other person, so he just nodded. “Well, I'm not part of a gang, but still. It has become dangerous to even leave the house there, so many street fights happening and other bad stuff...” Greg made a hand motion that was probably supposed to illustrate the 'other bad stuff'. “So I came to London and ended up here”, he finished his story rather abruptly.

Dan wasn't quite convinced. “You fled gang wars and decided to come to London of all places? Where the ongoing war between the Dragons and the Lions is almost legendary? And you ended up in a neighbourhood close to the current frontier between the two territories?” _Something about his story seems off_ , Dan thought to himself, _could it be..._

Greg just shrugged. “I didn't know this place was close to the frontier, I try to keep out of the gang affairs. And London is big, I thought if there's any possibility to make something out of your life in this country, it would be here. Besides” Suddenly those bright blue eyes were back on Dan and Greg's voice dropped even lower “I thought this might be the right place to meet some interesting people.” Greg leaned in closer. “ _You_ are interesting, Dan” Those eyes burned their way into Dan's mind, incinerating all thoughts that didn't revolve around that particular shade of blue – _was there some yellow within, too?_ – and he could now feel Greg's sweet breath against his face. Despite the whiff of alcohol in it, Dan was sure he'd never smelled anything more pleasant in his life. He gulped. Suddenly, all of his earlier suspicions were forgotten.

\------------------- 

For the rest of the night, Greg kept his promise and turned out to be a very fun person to talk to. They didn't discuss each other's personal lives any further and instead talked about their interests, shared funny anecdotes and even got into philosophising about life and people a bit. At no point during their conversation did Dan think about how he would rather be by himself, which usually happened the moment he started talking to someone. Or even the moment he saw someone he knew. But with Greg, things somehow were easier. More natural. Dan didn't pretend to be someone he was not and Greg didn't mind to see the _real_ Dan – he even seem to like his weird sides that Dan himself usually hated.

“What do you mean you always wanted straight hair? You look _so_ good with those curls” Greg exclaimed at one point during their conversation.

Dan was thankful for the dimmed light that would hopefully hide the blush that spread across his face and neck. “Straight hair is so much cooler though! I mean, just look at you” Dan was shamelessly flirting by now, but since he was at his sixth beer, he didn't care anymore. “Although I bet any hairstyle would look good on you. Have you ever tried a quiff?”

Greg laughed. “I'm very happy with my hair like this, but thank you for the inspiration, maybe I should try new things.”

“No, seriously. I'd _love_ seeing more of your forehead” Still more confident than usual, thanks to the alcohol in his system, Dan reached out a hand to brush away Greg's fringe. With quicker reflexes, because he hadn't had as much to drink as Dan, Greg caught his arm before he could reach his hair. Dan pouted.

Greg giggled. “Stop it!”

Dan tried to playfully wrestle against Greg's grip to still go through with his plan. They were both giggling by now. “But you would look so hoooooot” Dan whined.

Dan didn't know when or how it happened but suddenly there was a shadow across Greg's features and the playful atmosphere between them had vanished in an instant. Dan quickly retracted his arm, Greg letting go without a fight now, feeling cold all of a sudden. Had he said something wrong? Had he taken it too far by trying to touch the other man? Had he ruined everything now? He didn't know what it was but Dan felt like the look on Greg's face was entirely his fault. There was panic bubbling up inside him. “I'm sorry” he stuttered, looking down at the table. “I didn't mean to...” He didn't know how to finish.

“No, no” the black-haired man shook his head “I'm sorry! There isn't... It's... nothing!” He smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes this time. Dan felt even more miserable. And if that wasn't enough, his nervousness had now alarmed his bladder which painfully reminded him of all the beer he had drunk in the past few hours.

“I'm sorry” Dan said again, feeling like this was just the worst time to go to the toilet, but it was no use, he had to. “I'll be right back! I just... bathroom... I'll... be right back!” he muttered and hastily disappeared to the little door at the back of the room, leaving the other man behind at the table. He hurried, a part of him worried that Greg might actually be gone just like that if he took too long. The entire time his mind raced around the question how he had upset the otherwise cheerful man like that. Fear spread in his chest. Fear that he had once again fucked up, like he always did when it came to his personal life. But this time, he was determined to fix it.

Dan hurried back to the table. Relief washed over him when he saw Greg still sitting at the same spot, his old smile back on his face. He quickly sat down, trying to find words to apologize once again, but the other person beat him at it.

“I'm really sorry about earlier”, Greg said, giving Dan the sweet smile again that made Dan feel all kinds of things in is stomach, “here, let's drink to the good memories we made tonight” He gestured at something on the table in front of them.

Only then did Dan notice the two shot glasses filled with clear liquid. He shifted in his seat nervously. “What is it?” he asked.

Greg just smiled. “Just something to celebrate tonight. I'm very glad I met you Dan and I hope there will be more nights like this to come. Here” He pushed the glass in front of Dan closer to him, encouraging him to take it, “let's drink to us. To tonight. And to what's still to come” On the last few words, his voice had once again dropped lower to that tone that made Dan's head spin.

If Dan was being honest, he didn't feel like drinking whatever was in front of him. He felt like he had already had enough for one night, plus the small reasonable part of him that had not completely been taken over by either alcohol or the other man's voice warned him that something just _wasn't right_. But the other part of him still felt guilty about whatever happened a few moments before and reminded him of the promise he had made to himself to make everything work out this time. He couldn't say no to those blue eyes looking at him expectantly. With shaking fingers he took the glass, knowing he would probably somehow regret this later on, forced a smile and lifted it to meet the glass that was already in the air in Greg's hand. The smile that Greg gave him made almost all his worries disappear. Almost.

“To us, Dan. To whatever the future might hold for us” he said, before downing it all.

Dan, not wanting to look as uneasy as he felt, closed his eyes and did the same. He didn't recognize the taste, it was nothing he'd ever had before. In fact, he didn't even taste the alcohol which he was glad about, meaning there probably wasn't much in there. But there was another, bitter taste that made him grimace. He quickly put on a neutral face before Greg would notice. He didn't want to appear like he couldn't take it.

“So uhm...” Dan cleared his throat, “yeah me too, I'm glad we met tonight.” He tried to start the conversation once again, but contrary to his behaviour until now, Greg just gave a quick smile and didn't respond at all, just looked at Dan like he was waiting for something. Did he expect him to say more? Dan started sweating. Why was it suddenly so hot in here?

“I uuuuh... like, I had fun. You... there is... between us... I” Dan's vision became slightly blurry. Had there been more alcohol in that drink than he thought? “I... realllly... ont... thertb... hee” The room started spinning. Dan had to grip the table in order to not fall off his chair. How could he have suddenly gotten so much worse?

Greg, who had seemed almost disinterested after they'd had that drink, raised his eyebrows. “You look really bad” he stated, “we should go outside so you get some fresh air”. He helped Dan up from his chair and half carried, half dragged him towards the exit. Dan's mind was clouded. A small part of his brain that could still think properly warned him, screamed at him, that something was definitely wrong, that he should stay inside the pub where the other people were and not follow a person he barely knew outside. But Greg's grip on him was tight and Dan could not find any strength to go against him. Instead his head grew so heavy that he had to rest his head against the other man's shoulder and he breathed in the sweet scent that surrounded Greg, surrounded both of them now. Shutting out the panicking voices, there were only the two of them, closely together, nothing else...

A strong wind hit Dan's face, making him realise they'd left the pub. Why were they still walking? Where were they going? “Whe.... yyyyy... wha...” was all he managed to say.

Greg shushed him. “Let's walk to that street over there. You'll feel better there I promise”

But Dan already felt so blissful, with just the two of them walking together, him leaning on the other man. He tried to tell Greg, but even in his foggy-brained state Dan realised the sounds that were coming out of his mouth made no sense at all.

Greg, being perfect as he was, didn't seem to care. “Shh. We're almost there. My car is right around this corner”

His car. Those words activated a few more parts of Dan's mind. How did Greg have a car? Only rich people could afford to have one these days and rich people didn't live in this part of the town. Everything about Greg living in this part of town seemed off. Unless he didn't actually live here. Unless Dan had met him in a region so close to the frontier for an entirely different reason. Unless he only had access to a car because he was actually a member of...

The penny dropped right when they rounded the corner. Dan saw the vehicle right away. It wasn't just a normal car, it was a small black van, hidden in this dark alley where no one would take notice of it. Or of someone disappearing. All the alarm bells in Dan's head started ringing at the same time. With all the strength he could muster, he broke free from Greg's grip, a pathetic shriek coming out of his mouth. But without the support next to him, Dan just stumbled and fell face-first to the ground.

He didn't feel any pain. His mind was too numb, like it was packed in soft cotton, not bothering to register what his nerve signals were transmitting to his brain. He couldn't open his eyes anymore, his eyelids felt like they were weighting tons. But he heard voices now. Multiple voices, coming closer to him. He tried to scream for help, but only a whimper came out. He couldn't make out what they were saying, his brain only being able to register fragments of the sentences.

“... took... long enough, Phil, ...”

“... who... pathetic bitch...” A female voice!

“... a Dragon... useful...” Was that Greg?

“... alright... into the van... go... quick, before...”

Strong hands grabbed him under his chest and legs and lifted him roughly. Dan wanted to struggle, to break free and run away, but not a single muscle in his body seemed to respond anymore. The last thing he felt before he completely drifted into darkness was a hard surface that he was thrown onto. The image of warm blue eyes burned behind his closed eyelids, before his consciousness faded into nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was the first chapter, I hope you liked it! Sorry for any mistakes, the fic is unbetaed and English is not my first language.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter 2 is up, woohoo! Sorry for the long parts of monologue, but I wanted to let you know more about Dan and the universe he's in and there's just soo many people to introduce in this chapter. I was already holding back, I promise ;)  
> As always, comments are much apprechiated, let me know what you think!

Dan woke up with a headache. He groaned, feeling disoriented and having trouble making sense of the thoughts and memories buzzing through his head. He tried to move his arms to press his hands against his throbbing head, only to realize he couldn't. Why couldn't he? Dan slowly opened his eyes, sensing that something was very wrong. He was met by darkness. He turned his head to where his window should have been but there was nothing but the blackness that completely surrounded him. The realisation of this drove his sleepiness away. He hated the dark. It made him panic, it always had, one of the weaknesses he hated to admit to. Dan tried to move, to find a source of light, but once again he had to realise that he couldn't, which made him panic even more. Fully awake at last, Dan noticed only now that he wasn't lying in his bed. In fact, he wasn't lying anywhere at all. He sat upright in what seemed to be a wooden chair, judging by the surface he was sitting on and the long backrest. And, if he interpreted his inability to move and the pressure around his chest, arms, wrists and ankles correctly, he was tightly bound to it.

Dan closed his eyes – not that it made much of a difference in terms of how much he could see – and took a few deep breaths. This was no time for a panic attack now. Where was he? And how did he get here? Dan tried to recollect his memories of the previous day. He had been on duty for his gang. Usually that just meant strolling around the territory, looking scary and gaining respect for the gang from non-members. Occasionally patrolling the frontiers. Or participating in boring discussions about strategies and the 'next big thing'. Unfortunate as he was, it had been a day with an actual physical fight. He and some other Dragons had been sent out to 'deal' with a small newly formed gang that had started some sort of rebellion against the Fire Dragons in their own territory. If you could even call fifteen people with a badly drawn gang logo on their shirts throwing bottles at Dragons a rebellion. The punishment had been grave nevertheless. Dan's stomach turned slightly at the memories and he forced his mind to jump forwards by a few hours. He had eaten with the other Dragons and then made his way home, grateful for when he could finally leave. He'd played some video games, his Dragon status making it possible for him to have a gaming console and a few hours of electricity a day, and eventually he had left to spend his night like he usually did after rough days like that; drinking at his local pub until his memories were blurry and his problems forgotten.

But that wasn't it. Dan felt something at the back of his mind, a memory he couldn't quite grasp. A man. A new resident looking for company. Blue eyes... Dan opened his eyes with a gasp as last night's memories all came back to him at once. Greg! His smile. Their long conversation that had made Dan happier than he'd felt in long time. But then something had changed... Greg had been different. Had there been... drinks? Dan groaned quietly when he realized that his memories after a certain point were still blurry and fragmentary. But the few things he could remember clearly were enough to put the pieces together. He had been drugged. By... Greg! Dan swallowed. He had been tricked so easily into trusting the other man who had taken advantage of his tipsiness and lack of social contacts. Dan felt his cheeks burn in embarrassment. But after the initial feeling of shame had washed of, there was another emotion growing stronger inside him. Fear. As much as Dan could tell from the ropes that held him in his chair, whoever had tied them wasn't an amateur. This wasn't just a desperate person holding him for ransom. It wasn't an unorganized rebellion like the one from yesterday either. The vicinity of the place where he had been taken to the gang territory frontier left no doubt. Dan swallowed hard. He had been kidnapped by Lions. Had he not been tied to the chair that firmly, Dan would have started shaking. The 'Northern Lions' were the Fire Dragon's biggest rival. Their fight for the city of London had been going on for years, gradually growing more and more brutal and merciless. If his suspicion was true, and Dan was fairly sure it was, yesterday had probably been the last time he'd ever seen the sunlight.

For a few minutes, Dan gave in to the emotions rolling over him. Fear. Regret. Anger, mostly at himself. Before he got too overwhelmed though, he managed to get a grip on himself. He'd never been a very optimistic person, but if he lost it right now, he'd look pathetic and weak in front of his enemies. _In front of Greg_ , a small voice in his head that he did not want to acknowledge right now added. And if there was one thing he hated, it was losing his face in front of somebody. His pride won over his pessimism and so he forced himself to grasp onto that glimpse of hope, that _maybe_ he could somehow manage to escape. He looked around. There was a faint streak of light in front of him where the wall met the ground. A door! And as electricity was hardly ever wasted these days, there had to be someone in another room nearby. Dan closed his eyes once again and focused and... yes! He could actually make out muffled voices in another room. Although they were much too quiet to understand, he could tell there were multiple people speaking. At least two men. And... two women. Dan opened his eyes again as he swallowed hard. If that many people were here, they probably already had plans for him and would not waste any time to get through with them. He suppressed the panic that kept rising inside him again and tried to think. But soon he had to accept that his situation was quite hopeless. He went for the bonds around his wrists again, wriggling and turning his hands as much as he could – which wasn't very much at all – in a desperate attempt to free them. It wasn't long before his wrists were sore and he had to admit defeat. There was nothing he could do but wait. He shortly considered making some kind of noise to let his abductors know he was awake. He really _did_ want to escape the complete darkness that still terrified him, but on the other hand he wasn't looking forward to whatever was about to come, so he stayed silent for the moment.

Dan didn't know how long he'd been there sitting in this chair. _Like a lamb waiting for the butcher_ a bitter voice in his head mocked. Thanks to the little light that came into the room from underneath the door, his eyes gradually got used to the dark, but apart from a few more stools there was nothing else in there with him. Eventually, he heard a chair scraping against the floor and steps coming closer. His heartbeat sped up. Dan thought about pretending to still be asleep, but he knew he had to face his fate eventually. Plus, it would make him look like a coward. He faced the door, straightening his posture and tried to look as grim and determined as he could. He had no idea if he managed.

The door opened and a strip of light flooded the room right where Dan was seated in his chair. Despite being deeply grateful to no longer sit in complete darkness, the light was too bright for his eyes to handle after they'd barely had any for so long. He squinted, probably even pulled a face while doing so, and thus presumably failing miserably at leaving a tough first impression.

“He's awake”, a female voice in front of him shouted. A short silence. Then, the sound of more chairs being pushed back and multiple steps coming towards him. Dan was terrified.

He slowly opened his eyes again bit by bit. Dan could make out the silhouette of a person leaning against the door frame, arms crossed, facing him. When his eyes had further adjusted to the light, he could see brown, curly hair, similar to Dan's, only it was about shoulder-length. Brown eyes stared back at him with a remorseless expression. His eyes travelled lower. The person was female, which matched the voice he'd heard just now, dressed in all black from head to toe, except for – a blue denim jacket with a fur collar! Dan's mind went numb, all the thoughts that had been racing through his head coming to a halt. He knew that if the woman in front of him turned around now, he would see a golden lion embroidered to the jacket, with small silver knifes surrounding it. The trade mark of the Northern Lions. Even if he'd suspected it before, seeing it made it all too real.

The door was opened wider and the light in his room was switched on. This time, Dan's eyes didn't take long to adjust. Another person stepped into the room, a man this time, wearing the same black clothes and denim jacket. His face looked familiar, for a short moment Dan thought he was looking into Greg's eyes and his heart jumped. But then he noticed the small differences between the face he was seeing and the one he had been lost in the night before. Plus, this person's hair was short and blonde. _A relative, maybe his brother_ Dan wondered. The man looked at him warily and slowly stepped up to him, coming close enough that Dan could have touched him, had his arms not been tied behind his back. After the man that looked so similar to Greg, another woman came in. Her bright red hair was short and curly, the distrustful look on her face matching the others'. She came to a halt to the right of the man in front of Dan, staying a few steps behind. The woman who had initially called the others turned up next to her. There was one more pair of steps and one last person appeared in Dan's vision, this time to the left of all the others.

From the moment he had woken up, it had been a rollercoaster of emotions for Dan. However, seeing Greg again surpassed everything he had felt in the past hour. The memory of happiness washed through him, as the last time he had seen the other person, he had been in such a good place, with emotions he hadn't dared feeling in a long time. But just as fast came the other feelings – hurt, disappointment. Greg's presence in this room and the Lion outfit he wore made his betrayal painfully obvious. Greg looked just like yesterday, and yet entirely different. It wasn't just the clothes, there was a hard look on his face. His eyes that had been so warm before were now looking at Dan coldly, an expression on that beautiful face that Dan had not seen there before – no, that he had seen only _once_ before. That time in the pub right before Dan had excused himself to the bathroom and everything had changed, he had caught a glimpse of this distant, unforgiving look. Now it pierced right through him, giving no hint at the lovely person Dan had met the night before. Dan's chest tightened. Had everything he'd seen yesterday only been an act? Was this the only real Greg? They held eye contact for what felt like an eternity, Dan searching for any sign of the joyful man he'd gotten to know. Eventually, Greg looked away, something unreadable flickering across his face, but it was gone too fast for Dan to make sense of it.

“So”, Dan's attention was drawn from Greg back to the man right in front of him, who had started talking, “Daniel the Fire Dragon, huh?” For the first time, Dan realised that not only did Greg betray him by drugging and kidnapping him, he had probably retold their entire conversation to his gang members. It took all of Dan's willpower to continue looking stern and unimpressed. He hadn't told any big secrets to Greg, but he had gone more out of his comfort zone than he usually did. The thought of the feelings that he had shown, the flirting, some of his true thoughts, all dismantled and sneered at by those insensible Lions... It was hard for Dan not to let the shame and anger that overflowed him show.

Dan cocked his head and held the man's gaze. “And some Northern Lions that got lost in the wrong territory”, he spat out, “Quite a bold move for someone who's so far from home.” He sounded a lot more confident than he felt.

The man in front of him chuckled. “Bold, yes. But look who's in the wrong territory now. Let's see how a Dragon fares in a Lion cage” So they were already in the Lion's part of London. Dan's hope of escaping shrank with every passing minute.

“Let's see how Lions fare with a whole pack of Dragons up their asses once they've found out where I am”, Dan countered. It was an empty thread, but he hoped his kidnappers wouldn't notice.

“Right, once they've found out where you are. Until then,” the man grabbed a chair and mad himself comfortable on it, “we've got all the time in the world. And I wouldn't count on them finding out what happened soon. Phil told us that you were alone in that pub and that it's a place where not even the barman cares about his costumers very much.” He gave a smug smile.

Dan silently cursed. He knew the other man was right. His liking to being ignored might very well be his doom now. But something else the Lion had said confused him. Who was Phil?

Dan continued his act of being confident about the whole situation. His had always been much better with words than with fighting skills and his wit had helped him escape a fight before more than once. Then again, his loose tongue had gotten him into trouble just as often. He snorted. “One little success and you feel like you're gonna get through with anything. Sure. See where that will get you. I'll enjoy watching your Lion bodies burn one by one when the Dragons are here to punish all of you.” An image from the day before flashed before his eyes. For a second, he thought he could hear the screams again, smell the burning flesh in the air. Dan quickly shoved those memories away.

The blonde man leaned back in his chair. “Phil told us you had a sharp tongue. He also told us it's more façade than anything, so there's no need to take it seriously”, he said challengingly.

Dan's confusion grew. Who was this Phil guy and why did he know this stuff? There was no other guy in this room besides Greg. Sure, after their night in the pub together _he_ would be able to tell this. Dan looked over to where he was standing. The look in Greg's eyes was still cold, but his face had gone slightly red, as if he was embarrassed, as if someone was talking about him... Dan almost screamed when the realisation hit him. The entire night, their entire conversation, it had all been a lie. From the start, Greg – no, _Phil_ had lied to him. Dan knew he should just ignore this for now, but he couldn't help but to make a remark on it.

“So Phil, that's your real name then?” he spat out in the direction of where the black-haired man was standing, “it's too bad everything about the person from yesterday was a fake, I actually kind of liked him. What a shame it was just a dirty Lion in disguise.” Dan knew he sounded bitter, but he didn't care anymore. He felt like he had hit the lowest point of his life. For once he had dared to lower his walls a little and as it turned out he had opened up to the most dishonest person he'd ever met. _Phil_ lowered his gaze, face unreadable again. Dan felt his eyes burning. It took all his effort not to actually start crying in front of his worst enemies.

“Enough of this”, the red-haired woman who had not said anything yet spoke up, “we haven't done this to throw insults at each other's heads. Martyn, we need to get on with it. Find out what he knows.”

Dan gulped. So that was it then. They wanted information. And who knew how far they would go to get what they wanted. Knowing the ongoing gang wars and how Lion prisoners were usually treated by the Dragons, probably very far.

“You're right”, the man in front of Dan – _Martyn_ , the woman had called him – leaned forwards again so he was staring right into Dan's eyes. “I'm actually surprised you weren't more cautious about being taken by us”, he continued, “regarding the latest events. You should have expected that we would pay you filthy Dragons back in kind.”

Dan wasn't sure what the Lion in front of him was talking about. Sure, there had been conflicts with Lions recently, but mostly just border fights or verbal provocation that eventually led to more or less harmless brawls. As far as Dan knew, there had been no plans to sneak into the other territory and kidnap random gang members. That wasn't really Dragon style anyway. Then again, Dan wasn't high-ranking enough to be informed about secret missions.

Dan knew the others wouldn't believe him, still he decided to tell them the truth anyway. “I don't know what you're talking about”, he said, realising that it was exactly what he would have said if he actually _did_ know. There was no way he was going to convince the Lions he was telling the truth like that.

As expected, the four other people in the room started laughing. “Of course he would play dumb”, the brown-haired woman said contemptuously, “why are we wasting our time with the nice talk? Let's show him what it feels like to have Lion Claws inside you and then he'll fucking tell us where Louise is in no time.” Her eyes glinted dangerously. A handy silver knife, the blade about 8 inches long and double-edged, appeared in her hand. Dan didn't let it show, but the sight made him nervous. Every gang had their preferred weapon. The Dragons used fire. The Lions used their 'Lion Claws'. He'd heard stories about what a trained Lion could do with them. It was the kind of story that was told at night, whispered only as if saying it too loud would make said gruesome Lion appear behind you. It was meant to scare, to make you fear your enemy. It had always worked on Dan.

To his great relief, Martyn waved her off dismissively. “No need to rush, Sophie. I'm sure he's a smart boy and will soon figure out on his own that cooperating with us is in his own best interest. Isn't that right, Daniel?” A menacing tone underlaid Martyn's voice. “So what do you say? Have you seen our friend? Tall, blonde, a bit chubby. Small gap between her front teeth. Come on Daniel. You really want to help us out on this one, trust me.”

Dan didn't know how to respond. He was sure that he had not seen a person that fit that description recently. Nor had he heard anyone talk about some Lion called Louise. But if the people in front of him didn't believe him that, he didn't doubt for a second that they would try other ways to get the information that he didn't even posses out of him. “Listen”, Dan started calmly, “I really don't know anything about your friend. Honestly. But if you let me go, maybe I can...” He didn't get to finish his sentence.

Phil took two menacing steps forward until he stood next to Martyn, right in front of Dan. “No you listen”, he hissed, his eyes filled with hatred, “maybe it would help your memory if I told you just a small detail that Martyn forgot to mention. She is _pregnant_ ” He spat those words out, Dan feeling the anger and desperation that lied within them, “She is pregnant and now she's gone, and the last time people saw her was near the frontier to your goddamn Dragon territory. So how about you tell us everything or I swear I'll cut the answers out of you piece by piece.” His body had started shaking slightly.

“Easy, Phil”, Martyn said quietly from beside him.

Dan knew he should do his best to calm him down and convince Phil that the Dragons actually didn't have anything to do with this. He knew he should. But seeing Phil still made him think of the betrayal, which Dan was not over yet. Seeing Phil angry at _him_ however hit a nerve that sent Dan over the edge. How dared that _person_ , who had used Dan, seduced him only to reveal his true face and mock his feelings, how dared that guy be angry at _him_?

Dan narrowed his eyes and shot a hateful stare back at the other man. “No I said _you_ listen. I don't know where your little girlfriend is. Maybe she ran off with the baby because she realised what a shitty person you are and didn't want her child to grow up with a father like that. Maybe she realised what a bunch of dicks you Lions are in general and found a better lover among the Dragons, someone who's actually got some brains and is able to give her what she wants, so she won't run away once she's got the opportunity. The Dragons didn't kidnap her, she was just sick of you. I'm not gonna be the scapegoat here because you failed as a boyfriend and as a person.”

Dan only stared at Phil, holding his gaze, but he could feel the shock that ran through the room, feel the dumbfounded looks on him that were mirrored in Phil's eyes.

The initial rage ebbed away and his rationality came back to him, making him aware of what he had just said. His mind engaged in trying to find a way to compensate for his words, which is why he didn't see the slap coming. Dan's head was thrown to the side, his left cheek burning. Pain shot through his head that was still aching from the alcohol and the drugs the night before. Before he could recollect himself, a hand gripped his hair and pulled his head back forcefully, making it hit the wooden backrest with a bang. Dan winced in pain, but suddenly there was a second hand around his throat, gripping tight, choking him. Dan opened his eyes in shock and found Phil's face just inches from his own. His blue eyes glinted dangerously, with just a hint of madness sparking up.

“First of all”, Phil growled in a slow, low voice. Yesterday, Dan would have called this tone sexy. Now, it was straight out frightening him. “First of all, she's not my girlfriend and it's not my baby, even though this is none of your concern. Secondly” The hand around his throat tightened. Dan desperately tried to gasp for air, without success “if you talk about her like that again, I will slowly skin every square inch of your body until you'll be screaming her name, begging for forgiveness for what you've said, do you understand?”

The look on Phil's face made it clear that it was no empty threat. Dan was surprised, despite everything the man had done, he had not expected such a dark side to him. Dan hoped for Martyn to step in again, to pull the man who was still blocking his airway away from him. But no one intervened. It seemed like Louise was a sore spot for all of them. Stars appeared in Dan's vision, the face in front of him getting slightly blurry. He could do nothing but letting out a croaking sound, trying to get across that he _did_ understand the threat, hoping that the other person would accept it as his answer. Phil gave him one last long stare – one that felt like eternity for Dan, making him almost believe Phil would actually just choke him to death right here and now – before he let go with a scoffing sound and stepped back.

Dan gasped for air, coughing violently as the air rushed back into his lungs. For the first time, he was glad about being bound to the chair or he might have fallen out of it. When he looked up again, he saw that Martyn had stood up, towering over him again. “This is your last chance”, he said, “tell us where Louise is and you'll save yourself a lot of pain.”

“I... don't... know... really... I...”, Dan coughed, not being able to form a coherent sentence after the previous violation of his throat.

The woman who had spoken before, _Sophie_ , Dan remembered, came closer to him, her Claw in her hand. “See”, she said in the same tone she'd been using all along, “he won't talk.” She brought the knife closer to Dan's face, who tried to move his head back as far as he could but was soon met with the chair's backrest. The blade stroked across the cheek, soft enough to not cut the skin just yet, but one flicker of the wrist and it would pierce a hole in it, cutting through like it was nothing. “Why don't we see how many body parts we can cut off before he passes out?”, she continued, “Those eyes are beautiful, but does he really need two of them?” The knife slowly wandered higher, until it was directly underneath his right eye.

“No”, Dan croaked desperately, “please...”

A knock on the door made everyone jump. Sophie stopped in her movement and turned around, just like the other Lions, but left the blade right were it was, ready to pierce through his eyeball at any second.

The door opened and a man that Dan had not seen before stuck his head through it. He had brown, curly hair and glasses, which was all that Dan could see from his position.

“What is it PJ?”, Martyn inquired in a slightly annoyed voice.

“There's complications”, the man answered, “you might want to hear this”

A few seconds passed, seconds that stretched endlessly to Dan. Eventually, Martyn gave a nod and the blade was removed from Dan's vision. “We'll deal with him later, we've got plenty of time after all”, he said and then, facing Dan: “looks like you got yourself some more time to think this over. Maybe your memory will be better when we'll be back. Or else...” He didn't have to finish his sentence.

All Lions shot him one last bitter glance before turning around and walking out, one after the other. Phil, who walked out last, switched off the light and shut the door, leaving Dan surrounded by darkness once again. At last, he was alone. Finally he gave in to all the emotions that he had held in during the interrogation, and silent tears started rolling down his cheek.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 everyone!! And it's the longest one yet.  
> I think I forgot to mention it last time, but this fic is still unbeta'd, so sorry for any mistakes, I'm (still) not a native speaker. If you see anything that's bothering you, feel free to point it out :)

The next time someone came into the room, it wasn't Phil. It wasn't Sophie with her Lion Claw either, and it wasn't Martyn, who Dan assumed to be the leader of the little group. It was the red-haired woman whose name he didn't know yet. In her hand, she held a glass of clear liquid and a bundle of something Dan couldn't identify. She stopped right in front of him, laid the bundle on the floor next to his chair and put the rim of the glass against his lips. “Drink!”, she ordered.

Dan pressed his lips tightly together. The last time a Lion had made him drink something, he'd lost a bunch of his memories and ended up in this dreadful situation. He would surely not make the same mistake again.

The woman, as if she'd read his mind, sighed. “It's just water”, she said patiently, “there's no reason for us to poison you now after going through all this crap to get you here.”

 _But you could drug me, like last time, so I'll pass out again and you can do whatever you want with me._ Tons of suspicious thoughts crossed Dan's mind and he hesitated. Then again, he reasoned, he was already right where they wanted him to be, all tied up and helpless. It wasn't like they couldn't do whatever they wanted with him anyway. Plus, he really _was_ dehydrated after his night in the pub. Dan decided it was worth the risk and slowly parted his lips.

The liquid that ran down his throat was cold and refreshing and as much as Dan searched for a suspicious aftertaste, he couldn't find any. It seemed to simply be water after all. He finished most of it before the glass was taken away from his mouth. The woman took a seat in front of him and turned to pick up the bundle she'd put aside earlier. It turned out to be a piece of bread and some apple slices wrapped in a dishcloth. The fact that his kidnappers were providing him with food was probably a sign they didn't want him dead just yet. Dan wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not.

The woman held the bread in front of his face, as if waiting for Dan to open his mouth. Dan's cheeks turned slightly red in embarrassment at the idea of being fed like a toddler by this stranger, his enemy even.

“You know you could just untie my hands”, he offered, hoping to keeping his dignity.

“You know we don't have to give you any food at all”, the other person simply answered, unimpressed.

Dan knew by the uncompromising tone of her voice that there would be no way to convince her otherwise and, understanding he'd have to eat sooner or later, he swallowed his pride and reluctantly opened his mouth.

It was an awkward process, but after the first few bites Dan noticed how hungry he actually was and was thankful for eating at all.

When his mouth became dry from all the bread, he spoke to the woman in front of him again without thinking: “Could I have more water, please?”

Right after the words had left his mouth, he realised that it was probably the most polite sentence that had been said ever since he'd been taken to this house. His cheeks turned even more red than they already were. He should not be _polite_ to his kidnappers of all people. They were his enemies, and acting soft in front of them would hurt both his pride and his chances of being taken seriously. Yet the words had escaped his mouth, because he was just too used to using his manners in front of other people.

The woman looked just as surprised as Dan felt about his accidental words. Surely she hadn't expected any kind words from someone who had been kidnapped either. But contrary to what Dan expected, she didn't sneer at his words or poke fun at him. “Sure”, she simply said in a more friendly tone than she'd used before and reached for the glass of water again.

There wasn't much water left and when Dan had finished it all, she got up and, with the hint of a friendly smile, declared: “I'll get you more.”

With the glass in her hand, she left the room. However, she didn't think about closing the door on her way out. Once her steps had grown quiet, Dan was able to make sense of the muffled voices that he always heard from a room nearby for the first time. He listened with all his efforts.

“... just bad luck, that's all.” Dan believed it to be Martyn's voice.

“So they're already on their way here?” Dan would always recognise Phil's voice.

“They still don't know he's _here_ , but they'll know to look in our territory” the man that Dan had briefly heard before responded. What had Martyn called him? PJ?

“So what? Give me half an hour with him and we'll have all the information we need. The Dragons can have back whatever will be left of him then.” Sophie sounded just as angry as she had earlier. Dan felt his panic return. He believed Sophie when she said that she could get him to the point of spilling all of his secrets in no amount of time. Only she didn't know that even if he _wanted to_ , he couldn't tell them what they needed to hear.

“We've been over this, Sophie. They still have Louise. And if only one of their spies in our territory hears him scream, I do fear for Louise's safety.” Martyn reasoned.

“Gag him then, so no one will hear him scream”, Sophie replied challengingly.

“He can hardly tell us anything we want to know if he's gagged”, Phil retorted, slightly annoyed. “If he won't talk voluntarily, there's no way we can interrogate him here. We have to take him to...”

Just then, the red-haired woman reappeared in the door frame, the glass filled with fresh water in her hand. She closed the door behind her, seeming oblivious that leaving it open before had allowed Dan to hear a piece of the conversation nearby.

The thoughts were racing through Dan's mind about what he had just heard. The Dragon's were looking for him? A glimpse of hope sparked in him again. And even if they didn't find him, maybe there would be a chance for him to escape when he would be relocated to a different place, as Phil had mentioned at the end. Grasping onto this hope, he mustered the confidence to ask the woman in the room with him some more questions. Although she appeared to be just as fierce as the others, at least she was the only person out of all the Lions who had been nice to him so far. Except Phil, the night before. But that didn't count.

“So, has the plan to cut me into pieces been dropped for now?”, he asked straightforwardly, pretending not to know anything about the discussion he had overheard.

The other woman stiffened slightly. “I wouldn't feel too safe if I was you. We might be getting back at it any minute now. If I were you, I'd just spill everything”, she said, avoiding looking directly into Dan's eyes. It was a bad attempt to get him to reconsider, her slightly shaking voice wouldn't even have convinced him if he didn't know she was lying already. Still, it told him one thing. Those people were desperate for information about their friend. Desperate people were the most dangerous. But also, they made mistakes.

He drank the water she offered and ate the rest of the food in silence. He didn't think that she would give him any information about what was going to happen to him, besides, he wasn't sure what there was to know anyway.

He thanked her when she left the room, partly because it was surely useful to have someone who at least didn't absolutely _hate_ him around here, partly because she really had been nice and he actually wanted to thank her for that. She gave him a small smile and left.

His time alone didn't last long though. Only a few minutes after the woman had left, Phil entered the room, PJ an Sophie behind him. All of them looked grim but highly alert, watching Dan closely, as if he posed any danger to them right now. PJ and Sophie positioned themselves left and right of the door, Phil came closer to Dan, stopping only right in front of him.

“If you try anything”, he hissed, “those two will kill you on the spot.” He nodded over his shoulder, making clear he was talking about the two people waiting by the door. Both of them had their hands gripped around something that was fastened to their belts. Dan had a suspicion of what it could be.

He was just about to question Phil's words and ask what he could _possibly_ try in his state, when Phil stepped behind him. It made Dan nervous, not being able to see what the other man was doing anymore, but then he felt a tug at the ropes around his wrists and suddenly, they loosened. _Oh!_ Dan looked at the two Lions in front of him again, understanding their posture now. Still, he presumed that 'killing him on the spot' had been more of a figure of speech. There was no way they would do him the favour of a quick death.

The rope around his wrists was gone now and he had to resist the urge to stretch and massage his sore joints since he didn't dare to make any unexpected movements while being watched so closely. His small freedom didn't last long, however, as Phil almost immediately stepped around him, pulled Dan's arms in front of his torso and tied his wrists right back together. Dan almost let out a frustrated groan. All this trouble just to have his hands tied in front of him? But then Phil, after shooting him another warning glance, proceeded to undo all the other ties that still bound him to the chair. _The relocation_ , Dan realised. They were taking him to that other place where the Dragons wouldn't find him. He had to find a way to escape soon, or he never would. But with PJ and Sophie watching every little movement of his, it would be near impossible.

Phil stepped back. “Get up!”, he growled.

Dan carefully got up on his feet. His whole body hurt from being in that uncomfortable position for too long, his legs felt like they were made of jelly and even after drinking all that water, his head was still aching. But tripping or blacking out now wasn't an option.

Phil was nice enough to wait until Dan looked stable on his feet until he gave his next command: “Follow me!” With those words he turned around and stepped out of the door.

Dan shot careful glances at his two guards to make sure he had understood correctly and they were not going to sink their Claws into his limbs if he moved now, then he quickly – but without making any sudden movements – followed Phil into the corridor outside his room.

He could hear the other two following right behind him, but he didn't dare to turn around and check. Instead, he focused on Phil's back and risked quick glances to around to get to know his surroundings. They seemed to be in an apartment, not too big but with several rooms connected to one long corridor. Most doors were closed, only one was slightly open, light shining into the corridor from behind it. Dan could hear the voices of the others coming from inside that room.

“... without knowing the position of their new security cameras, Cornelia”, Martyn said.

“It's okay, we don't have to go back anyway. We've got that guy, he'll...”, the voice of the woman who had given Dan something to eat sounded through the door. Cornelia was her name, then. But before Dan could even hear her entire sentence, they were past the door and the sound of their footsteps drowned out whatever was said next.

They stopped in front of a door at the very end of the corridor. It wasn't the front door. Did that mean he would stay in the apartment? Or did they need to prepare something before leaving? Phil pushed the door open and stepped inside. Dan followed him reluctantly.

He didn't know what he had expected. Certainly not – a bathroom! It looked so normal, yellowish tiles, an old toilet, a small shower with a worn shower curtain and a dirty bath mat in front, it felt almost surreal to Dan to stand in such a place.

He had still not quite processed what he was seeing when Phil closed the door behind him, leaving the two of them alone in the room. Dan looked at Phil expectantly, assuming the other man would tell him the reason for going here. But Phil just returned his look, waiting. What the hell were they doing in this place?

“Well?”, Phil finally broke the silence, “don't you... need to... do... something?” He stumbled over his last words. It was because of that, that Dan eventually understood the very simple reason they were here. He _did_ need to pee, so far it had just been less urgent than his other problems. He felt his face heat up, but for an entirely different reason than it had happened all day.

“Aren't you gonna... wait outside?”, he asked awkwardly.

“We're definitely not gonna leave you alone, untied like that. No matter the situation”, Phil replied firmly. But his flushed cheeks told Dan that the entire situation was just as embarrassing for him as it was for Dan. Knowing this made it a bit easier for Dan to accept the circumstances. He turned away from Phil and walked over to the toilet. His tied up hands made it difficult for him to execute his task and just opening his trousers took what felt like forever. The knowledge that someone – Phil, of all people – was watching didn't help and the button and zipper just kept slipping out of his hand. Finally, he managed and after a bit more fumbling he was able to empty his bladder. A quick look over his shoulder revealed a very embarrassed Phil who tried to watch Dan closely – did he seriously expect that Dan would try anything in _this_ kind of situation? – and at the same time do anything but.

When Dan was finished – somehow getting everything back into place took even _longer_ – he went to wash his hands. There was a small mirror over the sink and that way Dan was able to see himself for the first time since he was here. He looked horrible. There was dried blood all the way on one side of his face. The source seemed to be a large but shallow wound on his forehead and temple. Looking down on his hands properly now, there were many scrapes across his skin on the palms of his hands and on his knuckles. Dan couldn't remember where any of his wounds originated from, at this point he had accepted that his last memories of the previous night were lost forever because of the drug, but he liked to think that he put up at least a bit of a fight. Only the reddened skin that showed behind the ropes around his wrists were a sign of his earlier attempts to free himself from his ties.

He washed his hands and tried to clean as much blood of his face as he could, which mostly resulted in getting his sweater that he was still wearing pretty wet. His guards escorted him back to his room, past the room where he had heard Martyn and Cornelia before but unfortunately he couldn't hear them talking this time. Once he was back in his chair, Phil tied him back up again, under the stern looks of PJ and Sophie at the door. Then, they all left again without a word, closing the door and leaving Dan alone once again.

He tentatively pulled on the ropes but they were just as firm as before, apparently Phil was the skilled expert of bonds in the groups. The minutes passed and Dan's mind kept going back to him and Phil in the bathroom. In hindsight, it felt even more awkward and Dan was glad he was alone because he was sure his face was bright red. At least he had made Phil feel uncomfortable too. After being tricked by that sly person the day before, Dan was happy about anything that made him feel uneasy.

Trying to distract himself from those thoughts, his mind went back to what he had overheard on his way to the bathroom. Something about security cameras. Was this how the Dragons hat found out about him? There had been plans to install some cameras around the area because of recurring street fights, he recalled from one of the boring gang meetings. Was the street where he had been taken one of them?

Time passed and Dan could do nothing but wait. He tensed every time he heard steps in the corridor, but no one came into his room again. By now, Dan almost wanted for something to happen. His emotions kept jumping between the anxiety from not knowing what was about to come and embarrassment because his still couldn't get over the bathroom scene.

Eventually, Cornelia came in again with more food and water. The food was just bread again with some marmalade this time but Dan was incredibly grateful for being given food at all. Not being able to stand the uncertainty anymore, he decided it was safe to try for more information.

“So the Dragons are on their way here?”, he asked bluntly. Cornelia almost dropped the bread she was about to feed to him. She gave him a long, wary look, probably looking for some kind of trap in his question.

Dan decided to push. “I overheard it when I went to the bathroom”, he said, not wanting to reveal that he could hear their voices as long as the door to his room was open. “Someone said they found out about me being kidnapped by Lions and they are looking for me in your territory”, he continued, hoping to hear more details.

Cornelia stayed silent for a while. Finally, she spoke up, avoiding Dan's eyes. “Well, it seems like you were not as uncareful as we thought”, she said warily, weighting every single word she revealed.

Dan, however, was confused. He had not taken any precautions. Was she talking about the security cameras? He decided to go with it. “Well, you should have looked out for security cameras before kidnapping someone in their own territory”, he said boldly, hoping to have hit the mark.

For once in the past twenty-four hours, he seemed to be lucky. The woman in front of him let out a sigh. “We didn't think you would spend electricity on something like that, observing random streets in case Lions would enter your territory”, she replied gloomily, “our spies only found them today when checking on whether we'd left any tacks.”

Dan's heart sunk. Needing to confirm his suspicion, he demanded: “So you found the cameras and because of that you think the Dragons are looking for me?”

Cornelia gave him a dubious glance. “Well, they literally recorded us kidnapping you. And they must know we're Lions. So yeah, we know they must be on their way here.”

Dan swallowed the desperation that suddenly filled him up and put on a fake confident smirk. “Hell yeah they'll be looking for me now. They'll be here soon and then y'all will be sorry for what you've done”, he somehow managed to say without his voice shaking, hoping his rude answer would overshadow his suspicious questions.

Cornelia stared at him angrily. “We'll see if they get here in time. Judging by you, Dragons are not very smart so I doubt they'll find your ass here anytime soon”, she hissed.

She fed him the rest of the food with neither of them talking, but Dan had heard enough anyway. When she had left the room, he left out a frustrated puff of air, not daring to make any noise but needing to somehow vent his disappointment. The Dragons were not looking for him. The footage of those cameras was only reviewed when there was a reason for it. Despite being part of a gang, Dan didn't have any friends. Not really. No one would notice him missing for at least a few days, when he wouldn't show up to his gang duties. And even then, who knew how fast they would act. It wasn't just that he had no friends. Most people didn't even like him very much, including some of his superiors. They wouldn't bother helping him for a few more days. And by then, he would long be at a place where the Lions could torture him without anyone hearing him scream, making it impossible for the Dragons to find him. If he was lucky, he would already be dead at that point. But he felt like the Lions knew how to inflict pain on someone for a long time without killing them. The fear was back, stronger than ever. His only hope left was to escape on the way to that new place, or he would have to meet an awful end.

Fortunately, he had a lot of time to calm down before someone came into his room again. It was Phil, PJ and Sophie taking him to the bathroom, following the same procedure as last time. Dan didn't think it could possibly be any more awkward than before, until he realised that this time, he had certain needs that would require him to actually sit down on the toilet and face Phil. Both their faces were still a flaming hot red when they were back in Dan's little room and Phil refastened his bonds. Dan could hear the other two snicker quietly, as if they could sense their embarrassment.

Dan had almost forgotten about the Lions' plans to take him somewhere else, when at some point the door opened and only Sophie stepped back into the room. Dan's heart missed a beat when he saw that she held something in her hand, that woman still terrified him, but the object was much too small for a knife – or any kind of weapon. When she turned on the light, he was able to catch what it was. The realisation hit him hard. It was a small glass of clear liquid. He assumed it was not water this time. As cautious as they were with their prisoner not escaping, they would not take any risks while relocating him. His stomach dropped. He would be unconscious the entire time and wake up in a situation just like his current one, only much worse. His last hope to escape was going to be taken from him.

Dan's mind was racing as Sophie stepped closer. He could not drink it, or he would be doomed. She set the glass against his lips. “Drink”, she ordered. In his panic, Dan threw his head to the side, knocking the glass out of her hand. It smashed on the ground to his right. He trailed the liquid soaking into the wooden floor with his eyes, so just like before, he didn't see the slap coming. Although his head was better by now, she had hit the same cheek Phil had slapped earlier, making it sting even more.

“Idiot”, she hissed, then stomped out of the room. She returned soon after, a new filled-up shot glass in her hand. Dan knew he wouldn't get away this easily again. He was right. She forced his mouth open, then spilled its contents right inside. She pressed her left hand against his mouth, making it impossible to spit out anything. With her right hand, she grabbed her Lion Claw from her belt and pointed the tip directly at his Adam's apple.

“Drink”, she snapped, “or I'll slice your throat.”

Dan assumed she didn't really mean it, one thing he had found out so far was the fact that he was way too valuable for the Lions for them to kill him. But then again, she could still do other things to him. Sophie watched the muscles in his throat tense and relax again, the tip of her knife following the movements of his Adam's apple as he swallowed.

“Well done!”, she snapped, “You are very misbehaved, but we will soon teach you to follow _our_ rules.” With those words, she left the room, slamming the door behind her.

Dan waited a few seconds to make sure she really was gone. Then he tilted his head to the side, finally opening his mouth again and spitting everything he hadn't swallowed on the ground, right at the wet spot of the previously spilled liquid. He gave it a long, sceptical gaze, but unless one looked really closely, it was not possible to tell the spot was made by two separate spillages. He just hoped the bit that he _did_ swallow just now wasn't enough to make an impact.

Dan knew he had to act as if he'd drunk everything, so he let his head drop and closed his eyes. It didn't take long before he heard the door opening and someone – Sophie – shouting: “He's out!” More footsteps coming closer.

“Is the car ready?”, Dan heard Phil asking.

“Yes. Waiting right outside the door and with enough petrol to get you to Manchester”, PJ answered him.

A shock went through Dan's body. Manchester? They were going to get him to the Lion's headquarters? This was serious. The Lions would definitely have experts for handling prisoners like him in their main city. He needed to escape, and he needed to do it fast.

He felt the ties around his body loosening. Even his wrists were being untied. Nobody suspected him to still be awake. If he had been a good fighter, he could have used the moment of surprise and maybe fought his way out of here. But he wasn't. The others would overpower him immediately. Plus, he could feel some effects of the drug, making his limbs feel heavier than usual. He desperately hoped he hadn't had enough to make him black out.

When the ties around his torso came down, he had to resist the urge to tense his muscles to stay upright. Instead let himself subdue to gravity and slipped to the side. He mentally prepared himself for the impact of hitting the hard wooden floor, but gentle hands caught him and his head and torso were rested against the leg of a warm body, carefully, so he wouldn't fall again.

“Are you sure you're okay with going alone?”, Martyn said, “It would be no problem for one of us to accompany you.”

“He's passed out”, Phil's voice sounded from above his head, revealing it was his body Dan was leaning against, “I'm pretty sure I can handle him like that on my own.” Dan tried not to think about how close he was to the other man's crotch.

“I'm not talking about him”, Martyn replied teasingly, “I'm talking about your driving skills. Are you sure you can make it all the way to Manchester without wrecking the car?”

Phil's leg was shaking slightly when the man began to laugh, sending small vibrations through Dan's body. He could hear the other people's chuckles, too. It was strange to Dan, experiencing such a different atmosphere now that the Lions assumed he couldn't hear them. It made them appear so human – not his enemies but a group of friends who teased each other and laughed together. Who had lost one of their own. Despite his situation, Dan could almost feel a hint of understanding for them.

“Yeah, we'll talk again when I'm back” Phil responded, playfully offended. “Now”, he pushed his hands between Dan's arms and body, “who's gonna help me carry him downstairs?”

Dan was lifted from his chair, feeling several hands carrying him, through the door, down some stairs. His heart was beating so fast, he didn't understand how no one noticed, discovering that he wasn't actually asleep. His mind was working fast, all his senses on the lookout for any details about his surroundings. He needed to find the perfect time for escaping.

But as he was carried down the stairs, he noticed how his mind slowed, his thoughts struggling to keep up, the sensory impressions failing to reach his brain. When he tried to inconspicuously move a finger, he couldn't. Panic rose in his chest. If he lost consciousness now, he would be doomed. But as much as he fought against the darkness that was trying to take over, he felt his mind slowly slipping away. In a desperate last attempt to do _something_ , he screamed at every muscle in his body to move, to fight, to not give up now or he would be lost forever. But it was like all his nerves had come to a complete halt. He could distantly hear a car door, then the hands were gone and there was a surface below him. Was it hard? Was it soft? He couldn't tell. Some voice was wishing a nice journey, but it sounded distorted, like nothing he could recognise. He knew he had lost. His last plan had failed. With an inner cry of frustration and fear, he let the darkness welcome him once again, too scared to even imagine what he would see or where he would be when he woke up.

\-------------------------

A high pitched noise penetrated his ears, cutting through his mind. Dan groaned. Once again, he felt disoriented, having trouble remembering what happened before he had blacked out. The piercing noise changed pitch, quite frequently even, but Dan couldn't make out what it was. He slowly opened his eyes. In front of him, there was a soft, grey texture. Fabric. A... seat? Dan slightly turned his head. He was lying across the back seat of a car. In the driver's seat diagonally opposite of his head, there was Phil, staring ahead and moving his lips. That's when the memories came back to Dan. He quickly closed his eyes again, hoping the other man hadn't noticed him being awake yet. When nothing happened for a few seconds, Dan carefully opened his eyes again, squinting, ready to close them at any wrong movement the other man in the car would make. But Phil didn't take note of him at all, fully believing Dan would stay knocked out for the entire ride. His mouth moved in tune with the high pitched sounds Dan was hearing, and only then did he understand that what he heard was Phil singing. Now that his mind slowly awoke from his unconsciousness, he could hear the song playing in the background, sounding through the car's speakers. He recognised it as some old, pre-war song.

Dan turned his head even more, very carefully in order to not attract any attention, but Phil seemed to be fully immersed in the song. Dan looked down on his body. His hands were tied to the seat in front of him, that much he had noticed, but when he tentatively moved his feet, he found that only his ankles had been tied together, but he could move his legs around freely. It seemed like the Lions could be careless from time to time after all.

Manchester. Dan didn't know if it was because he had taken less of the drug this time, but he could remember the conversation before they had carried him to the car clearly. In any case, taking less had allowed him to wake up earlier than he was supposed to. It was the only chance he had. With his hands tied to the seat, there was no way he could escape. He didn't even bother trying to free his wrists. If Phil had bound them, he knew from experience that they were absolutely secure. And they would only be untied once they had reached Manchester, Dan was certain. At that point, escaping would be impossible for him. But it was okay. He had given up his plans on running away long ago. But maybe this was his chance to save himself a lot of pain.

Slowly, very slowly, he angled his legs until his knees were against his chest and his feet on the same level as the gap between the two seats in front of him. He watched Phil the entire time, worried that he would notice the movements behind him. But Phil was too busy singing about 'a taste of a poison paradise' in the high pitched voice he used for the chorus of the song, that he didn't notice him.

Dan looked out of the back seat window on the opposite side of his head. What would be a good time to execute his plan? They could already be right before Manchester for all he knew, he had no idea how long he'd been passed out. He needed to hurry.

Then, he noticed a weird pattern of plants in the distance. He laid too low to see much, but judging from the apposition of dead trees, they had probably once beautifully bordered a long, thin, area in the midst of the wide fields they were driving past. Either a street, or a river. And they were going to cross it. Meaning there was a bridge coming closer. Dan waited anxiously, following the pattern with his eyes, until they had almost reached it. He took a deep breath.

Phil's 'don't you know' turned into an even higher pitched scream when Dan's legs shot forwards, hitting Phil in the side and into the steering wheel. From the corner of his eyes, Dan could see the decayed railing of a bridge. Phil pushed against Dan's legs, but they were jammed in the steering wheel. Dan slammed his feet down hard, taking the wheel with him and causing the car to perform a sharp turn to the left. His calculations had been perfect. Accompanied by Phil's screams, the car burst through the degenerated railing of the bridge and plunged straight down, to what Dan hoped would be their instant deaths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's super hydrated now because she's tried out if it's possible to swallow only a part of your drink while looking like you've swallowed it all? That's right, it's me!  
> This was a long chapter, but I wanted to end it at this particular part (I love a good cliffhanger). As always, please let me know what you think :)  
> Also, for the sake of the fic, let's pretend Martyn and Cornelia always call each other by their entire first names and don't have any cute abbreviations or nicknames for each other...


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4 and god, I get too lost in all the details, these chapters are so much longer than I thought they would be... At this point, this fic is gonna take me _forever_. So thank you to everyone who's been sticking around ;) I promise the more fun parts - and the more _phan_ parts (see what I did there?) - will come soon.  
>  Also shoutout to everyone who keeps commenting, you guys motivate me so much to keep writing, you're awesome!!

Dan woke up with a pounding head. He winced. This was the third time within the past twenty-four hours that he had been unconscious. That definitely couldn't be healthy. At least this time around, he hadn't been drugged. But speaking of health – was he still alive? With a small gasp, Dan opened his eyes. The view was familiar, but then again completely different from how he'd last seen it. He was still in the car, but it was... upside down? He wasn't lying on the comfortable back seat anymore. Instead, it was above his head and the cold, metal top of the car was spread underneath him. The seat in front of his face was stretched back in a weird angle and his wrists that were still tied to the headrest were sore and bloody as if the rope around them had been heavily pulled on.

Dan's heart jumped as he remembered that he hadn't been in this car alone. What had happened to Phil? Dan wriggled as much as he could to look around the passenger seat towards the other side of the car, ignoring the hot pain that burned along his wrists with every movement he made.

Phil hung upside down in his seatbelt. His eyes were closed and there was blood all over his face. Whether he was unconscious or actually dead, Dan couldn't tell. His insides felt cold all of a sudden. He knew what he was doing when he crashed the car, but it had been a quick decision, without thinking all too much about the consequences. Yes, he'd rather wanted to die quickly than to be tortured to death in Manchester. But to think that he might have caused the death of another person, especially now that his original intention, dying himself, had failed, it made him feel sick. Even if it was the person who had been driving him to his destined location of death. However, there was no turning back now.

Dan looked at his still tied hands. He slightly pulled on them, but pain shot through his open wrists and the bonds didn't come loose even a single bit. Dan gritted his teeth. Of course Phil's expert ties would even survive a fucking car crash. Ignoring the pain, he twisted his wrists and stretched his hands as far as he could. Tears started forming in the corner of his eyes, but he blinked them away. Letting out a small cry, he was eventually able to reach the little button at the side of the headrest and pushed it down. With his other hand, he pushed the headrest up – or down, giving the current position of the car – trying to get it all the way off. Just when Dan thought he couldn't take the pain anymore, it dropped to the floor, setting the rope free. A sigh of relief escaped his lips. With his wrists only still loosely tied to each other, he was able to untie the knots and completely free his hands. The rope, partially red from Dan's blood, fell to the ground.

He allowed himself a moment of simply lying there, taking some deep breaths and savouring the fact that for the first time since his abduction, he could freely move all parts of his body without being restrained. He looked at his wrists. Deep cuts from the rope covered both of them, blood smeared onto his hands and arms. The tattoo on his left forearm – a dragon winding around his arm from the elbow up to right below the wrist, marking him as a member of the Dragons – was barely visible in some parts anymore. Perhaps the cuts had permanently damaged it. He would have to have it touched up when he was back in London. _If_ he managed to get back. Dan shook his head, forcing himself to concentrate on the here and now. He was still far from safe.

He unlocked the car door right next to his head and tried to open it, but even when pushing against it with all his strength, it wouldn't open more than an inch and then got stuck. Dan cursed. He looked around. The car door window at his feet was mostly gone. It must have shattered from the crash and now only a few pieces remained stuck in the frame. Dan realised he had been lucky that the window right next to his head had stayed intact, or the shards might have seriously injured him. Carefully, he slid towards the broken window, feet first, cautious not to hurt himself on the pieces of glass that lay beneath. Bit by bit, he made it through the small opening. The ground outside was soft and slick and one time Dan's foot slipped, causing his knee to painfully jab into a shard of glass, making his eyes water. After a few good minutes, he managed to fully get outside without inflicting any more injuries onto himself and stood up.

Dan blinked as the warm afternoon sun shone onto his face, caressing his skin as if it was welcoming him back to freedom. He knew that, technically, he had only spent about a day in captivity, but to him, it had felt like forever. After spending hours inside a windowless room thinking he'd die soon without ever seeing the outside world again, just standing in the sunlight and feeling a soft summer breeze on his face made him feel like he'd never been happier in his entire life. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

After standing like this for almost a minute, he opened his eyes again and took a look around. He was standing in a mostly dried out riverbed. Only the muddy ground was a sign that there had once been water here. But calling it a 'river' was almost an overstatement. 'Beck' would be more appropriate. He looked up to the bridge. There was a gap in the metal railing where the car had broken through, a clear evidence of what had happened. But altogether, the drop had been much lower than Dan had anticipated. Maybe ten feet. And there had neither been water to drown them while unconscious nor a street with asphalt that would have crushed their skulls upon landing. Instead, the soggy mud had probably softened the impact. Dan sighed. His plan had failed, but that meant that he was still alive. Whether that was good or not, he would find out.

Now that the relief from being free slowly wore off, Dan felt his worry coming back. All he could see were fields of nothing behind the edge of the trench he was standing in. Nothing that would give him a clue to how far north they were, how far inside the Lion territory. If he stayed near the street, there was a high chance that sooner or later someone from his rival gang would find him. As much as Dan hated wandering off into the blue, he would have to leave his only point of orientation to stay safe. He would need to somehow find out where he was. And how to get back to London, without getting caught.

He walked towards the side of the riverbed. Dried but dense bushes and trees blocked his way out and he had to walk a little along the side to find a place where there was a small gap, wide enough to let him through. It turned out to be more difficult than he had thought. Even though the trench wasn't deep, the muddy slope made Dan slip multiple times, making it hard to find good footing on the ascending, slick ground. Just when he had almost made it, suddenly there was a hand at the back of his jumper, pulling hard and making him fall backwards.

Dan blinked in shock. A tall figure stood above him. His face was smeared with blood and even his dark fringe had stains of red in it. Otherwise, he looked uninjured. A part of Dan was incredibly relieved that Phil was still alive. But the look on the other man's face quickly wiped out the good emotions Dan was feeling. It was the same furious look as when Dan had insulted that friend they were looking for, Louise. He was in some deep shit. Unless he managed to get away.

Before Phil could even say anything, Dan kicked against his shin as hard as he could. The person above him groaned and sunk to his knees, but didn't fall over as Dan had hoped. Dan quickly spun around and got on his hands and feet as fast as he could. Just as he was about to make a run for it, hands grabbed his ankles and he fell flat on his face again. He looked back and saw Phil, lying behind him, gripping his ankles, pulling. Panic-stricken, he freed his ankles and kicked again, aiming for the head. But Phil dodged his kick and instead managed to get up on all fours. Dan turned around again and tried to get up, too, but the man behind him was faster. A crushing weight landed on Dan's back and he collapsed. Before he could even react, his right arm was twisted on his back, sending a wave of pain through his body. Dan cried out. He blindly kicked his feet and tried to shake Phil off, but said person had positioned himself on Dan's back in a way that made it impossible to either harm or get rid of him. Phil twisted his arm even harder, making Dan scream again in pain, but also in frustration as he let his body go limp, admitting defeat.

Phil, however, wasn't done with him yet. Instead of letting go of his arm, he only slightly reduced the pressure on it, keeping it hurting but not enough to shut out all of Dan's other sensations. Dan grit his teeth to cope with the pain. This time he couldn't prevent the tears that started coming. Suddenly, an all too familiar blade appeared in his vision and was placed against his throat, making his head shoot up in instinct, jerking away from it. The blade followed his movements, positioning itself between his neck and the ground, forcing Dan to lift his head high up in an uncomfortable angle. His breathing turned shallow.

“Now listen you little piece of shit.” Phil's voice was right next to his ear. Dan could feel the breath ticking against his skin and his instinct was to move away from it, but any movement of his head would have driven his exposed throat into the Lion Claw beneath him. Phil continued, voice too strained to keep up the deep, menacing tone, but it sounded dangerous nevertheless: “I don't know what you were thinking making us crash and almost killing us. I don't even know how you are _awake_ in the first place.” Dan's neck muscles started aching. He wouldn't be able to stay in this position for long. “But let me tell you this”, Phil continued, “if you _ever_ try something like this again, you _will_ be sorry. If you _ever_ ,” Phil pulled on Dan's arm again, sending another sharp wave of pain through it. Dan winced, almost moving his neck down into the knife. He swallowed. In doing so, his Adam's apple scraped the blade. “ _ever_ try to run away again, I will take one of your fingers, cutting it off, bit by bit. If you manage to really piss me off, I might have to take more to satisfy my anger. Maybe your entire hand. Do you understand?”

Dan's neck was really hurting by now. He squeezed his eyes shut upon the effort not to lower his head and let out a small “Yes”. Phil wasn't satisfied. “What was that?”, he snarled, now closer to his ear. “Yes, I understand”, Dan repeated, louder. Without realising, his head dropped a little, moving away from the angry voice in his ear. A stinging pain erupted where the razor-sharp blade cut his skin at the lowest part of of his throat. Dan jolted back.

“Good”, Phil hissed, “And make sure you remember that. This is nothing personal, Daniel, but I can't have this mission fail. And if you stand between me and finding Louise, I will do _anything_ I have to.” Dan's neck had started shaking slightly from overstraining his muscles. They would collapse soon, whether the knife was gone or not. But Phil continued to ignore his obvious distress.

“So I hope you've learned your lesson”, he continued, “One funny move, one action I don't like and you'll wish you'd never met me. Although I suppose, you already do.”

“Please”, Dan couldn't help but letting out a whimper. He knew Phil wouldn't let him cut his throat open and die. He was too valuable because of the information the Lions thought he had. He knew that. But then again, moments ago Dan had almost killed Phil. Maybe, if Phil was a resentful kind of person... “I'm sorry”, he added, feeling ready to do anything to have the Claw removed from under his throat right now.

Phil leaned closer to his ear again. “Remember that”, he snarled. Then, the knife was gone and Dan let his head drop in relief, pressing his forehead against the dirty mud, but he didn't care. He couldn't help the tears that were running down his cheeks and the little sobs that escaped his mouth. It didn't matter that he had been ready to kill himself not even an hour ago, right now he was tremendously happy to still be alive.

He was not granted a long time to recover though, as Phil pulled him up to his feet soon after. He kept Dan's right arm still twisted behind his back – it had started to just feel numb by now – and the Lion Claw was back against his neck, ensuring that Dan would not make any false movements. But even without the precautions, Dan was way too exhausted to try anything. He willingly let Phil direct him back to the car wreck and when Phil made him get down on his knees next to it and keep his hands behind his head, he didn't fight back either.

He watched as Phil opened the car boot which miraculously still worked after the crash. Judging by the look of it, the car had landed on its front, which was now crushed to half its original size, and then toppled over. Now it was slightly sunken into the mud, three door windows and the windscreen missing. How both of them had survived, Dan wasn't sure. But that car would not get them to Manchester anymore, that was for sure.

Phil leaned into the car, a process that looked more difficult than usual, given that the boot lid of the upside-down car had opened to the bottom instead of the top. He went through some bags that Dan could only barely see from where he was kneeling, searching for something. Eventually, he pulled out a rope from somewhere and turned back to Dan.

“Hands”, he said dryly.

Dan's heart sunk a little upon the prospect of losing his only recently regained freedom again, but he was in no position to resist. Reluctantly, he moved his hands from behind his head and stretched his arms out in front of him, offering his wrists to Phil. The man towering over him pushed back the sleeves on Dan's jumper and was just about to bring the rope around his wrists in his usual tight, secure binding, when he stopped in the middle of his movement. He took Dan's right wrist in one hand, gently, brushing a thumb over the red line of torn flesh where his ties had been when the car had crashed on the riverbed, the strong impact having cut them open. Dan winced when the contact made his wound sting. If even Phil's light touch caused such a sharp pain, having the tight ropes right around his cuts would be insufferable. The thought alone almost made Dan cry out in apprehension.

But Phil withdrew his hands and went back looking through the car boot. He returned with a water bottle and a piece of fabric that he pulled from a small suitcase. He took Dan's right wrist in his hand and slowly poured water over it. Carefully, as if not to hurt him, he rubbed his fingers over the already dried blood and crusted mud in circling movements, washing it all off. Dan watched, mouth slightly open. Just a minute ago the other man had been so violent, almost killing him, and now he took care of Dan in such a tender way. It almost reminded him of the person he had met in the pub, in a time that felt so incredibly long ago, completely unreachable to him. Back when the other person was not a Lion, but simply a nice man looking for company. Back when Dan had dared to hope, just for a brief moment, for a life that did not just alter between his gang and constant loneliness. That maybe there could be something to look forward to. Dan quickly shut all those thoughts out, focusing back on his current situation. Phil had betrayed him. He was a Lion and was going to have him tortured and killed. Those were the facts and nothing could change that. He would have to find a way to escape or there would be no future for him at all.

Phil took his time to thoroughly wash the open wound, making sure all the dirt was properly removed from it. It stung a little but Dan wouldn't let it show, not wanting to look like he couldn't take a little bit of pain. After he was done with the right hand, Phil switched over to Dan's left arm, washing all stains away, making his Dragon tattoo fully visible again. Dan didn't know why, but he almost felt embarrassed by the creature of ink on his skin right now. It symbolised his commitment to a gang that had potentially kidnapped Phil's friend, tortured or even killed her maybe. Yet here the Lion was, showing more kindness than anyone with that tattoo in this situation deserved. If the sight of his rival gang's logo made Phil angry, however, he didn't show. 

When Dan's arms and hands were clean, Phil took the piece fabric and rubbed them dry, careful not to touch his his cuts. He then took a second piece of the same fabric and wrapped it around Dan's wrists, covering the entire sensitive area. Only then did he take the rope again and tied both hands together in his usual manner. The cuts were still throbbing, but the fabric shielded them well from the hard rope. Dan didn't know how to express it without having to be _nice_ to Phil, but he really appreciated what the other person was doing for him.

It was a long rope and Phil tied the other end to somewhere inside the car. It made Dan feel like a dog on a leash. Again, running would be impossible. And with his hands tied and himself being unarmed, contrary to his opponent, fighting was not an option either. Dan's mood turned gloomy again. Maybe he should have just slit his throat open on Phil's Claw when he'd had the chance. Now everything was just back to the way it had been before.

The next things Phil fetched from the car boot were more water, a small hand mirror and more fabric. Dan watched as Phil cleaned his own wounds and scrubbed the dirt away that covered most of his skin. Their literal mud-wrestling earlier had left them both covered in dirt from head to toe. When Phil had finished cleaning himself up, he came over to Dan once again with his equipment in hand.

Dan didn't realise what was about to happen in time, so when suddenly he felt a touch on his neck, his reflexes kicked in and he heavily jolted back. Phil, too, jumped backwards, startled by Dan's sudden movement. A hand went to his belt, ready to draw his Claw to fight Dan off. Both men stared at each other for a few seconds. Dan was the first to understand what had happened. His cheeks went red and he averted his gaze.

“Sorry”, he mumbled, “I... uhm... wasn't prepared to you touching... erm...”

Phil kept staring at him for a bit longer. Slowly, his posture relaxed, realising than Dan was not actually going to attack him.

“I... uh... was just gonna clean the cut on your neck. You know... I don't want to get it infected... and stuff.” Phil didn't seem seem quite sure what to make of this situation. He almost looked awkward the way he stood there, a few feet from Dan, not entirely sure what to do. It was so different from the image Dan was used to seeing.

“Yes, er, thanks. I mean. Sure. Go ahead”, Dan stammered. He was definitely not going to tell him about his weird sensibility when it came to touching his neck.

Phil carefully stepped closer again and this time, Dan mentally prepared himself. Just like before, Phil's touch was soft and gentle. Every contact on his neck sent small shivers through Dan, and – just like always – not flinching took him more effort than he would have liked to admit. Weirdly enough, although he was far from being comfortable with it, there was a small part of his mind that actually found excitement about Phil's gentle touches on his neck.

The cut was only small and not that dirty so it wasn't actually long before Phil was done and moved on to Dan's forehead, washing the dirt off the wound from the day before. Dan held still, neither of them talking.

When he was all clean and dry, Phil put all items back into the car boot. The he paused, his gaze on the street they'd crashed from. Dan realised that Phil had the same inner conflict as he himself had had earlier. Staying on the street and putting their fate into the hands of the next person who'd drive by, Lion or Dragon, or walking off into the unknown, making their own way towards a place with people who were loyal to their respective gang and help them reach their goal. The first option was risky, the second would take them quite a while. Dan still had no idea where exactly they were. He wondered if Phil did.

“So what now”, Dan decided he should take an active role in solving this dilemma, turning the outcome to his favour preferably, “are we gonna walk the rest of the way?” He had found that being irritating could often get him what he wanted. Being nice in this situation was too suspicious, being too mean might just make Phil stop talking to him, or even worse, hurting him again. But if he pushed his buttons just a little bit, maybe the other man would accidentally let some information slip.

Phil shot him an annoyed glare. “If _you_ hadn't caused this crash, we wouldn't have to walk anywhere”, he retorted

Dan put on a sly face. “Walking is much better for your health anyway. And the environment. Although I guess the nuclear war kinda fucked that up anyway.” He shrugged.

Phil looked at him half angry, half disbelieving. “Well, if you want to walk all the way to Manchester from here, go ahead. I'll meet you there in two weeks.” 

Dan didn't let it show, but that small piece of information got his hopes up again. If they were still that far from Manchester, they were probably still near the parts of the country that were mostly Dragon territory. Chances were, the next car passing them would be a Lion. Dan knew the Dragons barely made their way up North, despite their small holdings in Birmingham. But if they walked through the deserted lands, there was at least the possibility that they would stumble across a Dragon settling. At the very least, it would buy Dan some more time.

He smirked. “Alright then. Let's wait for a car to pick us up. Should we make a bet who will be here first? Your Lions who will not notice that you're missing until, what, two, three days from now? When did you say that you would be back? Or would they just assume you'd gone on an extended holiday?”

Phil didn't say anything, but Dan could read on his face that his words had hit the mark. He continued: “ _Or_ would it be the Dragons who have been looking for me all day already.” It was a lie, but one that the Lions thought was true, Dan knew that much. “Plus, they must have figured out by now that it was Lions who kidnapped me. North is probably the first direction they'll look.”

“Shut up”, Phil growled. But his eyes betrayed him, glancing south, as if he expected a car to appear at any moment.

Dan decided to push it just a little further. “Don't worry, they will be nice to you. Wait no, actually, they won't. Has anyone ever told you what we do with Lions in our prisons?” Dan could see Phil's already pale face lose even a bit more colour. “I bet people who say a Lions' roar is impressive have never heard one _scream_. Do you know the stories about people being burned alive? It's _impressive_ how much an experienced person can prolong the process. It's starting only with one hand, but then...”

“I said _shut up_ ”, Phil barked, fists clenched, his face a mix of rage and terror. Dan was certain that as many stories as the Dragons told about sadistic Lions and their dreadful Claws, it was probably exactly the other way round in the other gang. Dragons and their infamous fire that would slowly burn their enemies, taking its time, only ever eating away one body part at a time. Dan wished he could claim that all those stories were just tales and nothing more. In truth, he had witnessed scenes that did justice to the eeriest stories. It was like watching a race. What would the person on fire lose first, their life, or their sanity?

Dan knew he had Phil right were he wanted. And indeed, the other person turned around with a jerk and began to determinedly sort through the bags, pulling stuff from everywhere into one big backpack. When it was almost full, he firmly closed it and turned his head to Dan.

“Come here”, he said in his direction.

Dan slowly got up from where he was still kneeling on the ground. His knees ached, but he didn't pay much attention to them. With a pounding heart, he stepped closer to Phil. His words had been quite harsh, quite graphic. He hoped he hadn't upset the other man too much. Only now, much too late, did he remember that Phil firmly believed that his friend was a prisoner of the Dragons at the moment. And when it came to Louise, he seemed to have a short temper. Dan braced himself and closed the distance between them.

“Turn around”, Phil ordered shortly.

Dan did as he was told, his back now exposed to Phil. There was nothing that made him more nervous than not being able to see what his opponent was doing. Suddenly, there was a weight pressed to his back. Dan almost stumbled forward, not prepared for the force pushing him from behind, but he caught himself in time. He looked over his shoulder to see Phil holding the backpack against Dan, trying to fasten it to him. So that's what he had called him over for.

Dan was relieved that his plan seemed to have worked, but he decided it was best not to show it. “What do I get to carry a backpack for?”, he asked in a whiny voice.

“We're not gonna wait by the street”, Phil answered, busy with getting the rucksack onto Dan. With Dan's hands being tied together it was not that easy, Phil had to undo the straps and refasten them around his shoulders. “We'll walk that way” he pointed to his left, away from the street “until we find someone who'll help us. Well, help _me_ ”, he explained, looking satisfied with his plan.

Dan pretended to be shocked. “What, walk into the no man's land? Are you crazy? Who knows how far we are from civilisation.” he asked, making his voice sound appalled. 

Phil grunted. “There's an emergency kit including food and a water purifier in every car, I've packed it, plus some other useful things. We're not gonna die out there, don't worry. And since _you_ decided to wreck the car, _you_ will get to carry our stuff for us.

“So I get to carry your underwear around you, great”, Dan mumbled gloomily, but on the inside, he triumphed. Sure, the backpack would add to the list of things that made running away difficult. But he would find a way, somehow.

“I didn't pack those. Although if it does take us more than a few days, I'll probably regret it”, Phil responded.

Dan had meant it as a joke, but now than he looked inside the car, he did see an open suitcase with what seemed to be Phil's clothing and underwear for a few days. Just how long Phil had probably thought he would need to stay in Manchester. Until they'd be 'done' with Dan and he could return to London with the information about Louise. Dan felt slightly ill, thinking about where might already be right now if he hadn't been awake to induce the car crash. But the suitcase caught his attention for another reason. It was where Phil had pulled out the fabric from, earlier when washing out his wounds. Did that mean...

“Wait, what exactly is that around my wrists?” Dan asked, no longer having to fake the appalled tone in his voice.

“A rope”, Phil responded slyly. 

“I'm not talking about the rope”, Dan snapped back at him.

Phil had finished fixing the backpack onto Dan and stepped towards the car one last time, undoing the knot that attached the rope around Dan's wrists to the car.

“They're clean, no need to freak out”, he said simply, but Dan caught the slightly amused undertone, “I'm afraid I have no other piece of fabric suitable for the job, so you'll just have to deal with having my undies protecting your wrists. Unless of course you want me to remove them?” He held the end of the rope in his hands now, facing Dan with raised eyebrows.

Dan pressed his lips together, cheeks slightly hot.

“That's what I thought”, Phil chuckled. He bound the loose end of the rope around his own wrist to ensure Dan couldn't just break from his grip at some point.

“Alright then”, Phil hummed, “time to find out where exactly we are and how to get back to civilisation as soon as possible.”

He walked towards the edge of the riverbed and tugged on the rope connecting to Dan's wrists. Dan had no choice but to follow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can Dan and Phil survive out there on their own? Will they ever find their way back to civilisation? And how will they get along? Find out once I'm done writing the next chapter, whenever that will be...  
> As always, feel free to let me know what you think, I love reading your comments^^


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies, chapter 5 took longer than usual and it's not even the longest one yet.
> 
> The good news is that I've finally done most of the outline for dnp's journey. Like, I had the story in mind before, but now I've done most of their travel route and linked all the events I want to happen to the places _along the way_. All that's left now is to write it all down *sigh*
> 
> The bad news is that I have a deadline for an essay coming up next week, so unfortunately chapter 6 won't come any faster than this one, my apologies in advance.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter for now, and leave a comment to let me know what you think ^_^

They walked in silence. The main road was slowly getting smaller and smaller behind them. Every time Dan turned around, it looked less and less like the highway to his personal hell in Manchester, but rather like a distant threat that he miraculously managed to get away from. So far, not a single car had passed. By now, they were probably far enough away that no one driving by would notice the two figures in the distance, walking side by side in what could almost seem like a casual stroll through the fields, if it weren't for the rope hanging between them. Both of them noticeably relaxed the more distance they put between them and the road that they both thought would be their doom. Not that either of them would admit anything like that to the other person.

The silence wasn't uncomfortable, they were enemies after all, so small talk was out of the question. Dan had no interest in talking to Phil, he hated him from the bottom of his heart. Still, he couldn't stop wondering about these rare moments of intimacy between them; when Phil had steadied Dan's body against his leg while he thought Dan was unconscious, when he'd gently washed Dan's wounds and made sure the rope wouldn't hurt him before tying his hands together, when he'd accompanied Dan to the bathroom – although Dan preferred not to think about that too much – and earlier when they'd started their walk away from the car wreck. Getting out of the trench had been no easier than before. Phil had gone first, and although Dan had never before thought of him as clumsy, the sight of Phil trying to climb out of the trench on the muddy ground had heavily changed his mind. Not only had Phil slipped and fallen a total of three times, but one of those times he'd also pulled on the rope so strongly that he'd sent Dan flying down with him. He'd finally managed to get out in his last attempt, but it had looked about as graceful as a cow trying to climb over a fence. Unable to control himself, Dan had let out a snort – and immediately regretted it. After all, the same task had still been ahead of him, and even though he was sure that was nowhere near as clumsy as Phil, his tied hands would be a grave handicap. But, contrary to his expectations, Phil had grabbed his elbow and steadied Dan throughout the process, allowing him to climb out in mere seconds without even falling once.

Dan peered at Phil from the corner of his eye. He could have just watched Dan making a fool of himself, trying to climb out without being able to use his hands, probably falling a multitude of times, before _finally_ Phil would have shown some mercy and helped him out. If Dan was being really honest, that was probably what he would have done, had the roles been reversed. If only to keep his own dignity and make up for the show Phil had delivered during his own attempts. But Phil had just quietly pulled him out, no snappish comment, no spiteful look, he'd just turned around and continued walking. Some part of Dan's mind was still looking for an ulterior motive. Maybe Phil was nice to him so Dan would feel less inclined to put up a fight and willingly follow him to wherever he decided to go. Maybe Phil had just wanted to get away from the main road as fast as possible. _Or maybe_ , an even smaller voice inside Dan's head suggested, _he is just a_ nice _person_. Dan shook his head. There was no point thinking about this anyway. No matter how nice Phil actually was, he would always be his enemy.

They had walked around a lake and thankfully found a smaller road nearby that led away from the road they were trying to avoid, meaning they didn't actually have to walk through the wild fields. Dan noticed how Phil looked around a lot, scanning the area. Dan tried a shot in the dark.

“You have absolutely no idea where we are, do you?”

“Shut up”, Phil responded gloomily.

“How long did we drive for until... uh... the accident?”

Phil pressed his lips together and short him a glare, showing his discontent for Dan's choice of words.

“Alright, alright”, Dan corrected himself, “until I made the car crash.”

Phil averted his eyes from Dan, looking straight ahead. He stayed silent.

“Come on”, Dan insisted, “it's not like telling me that will somehow help me get rid of these ropes.” He lifted his tied wrists for emphasis. “No need to be that suspicious of me.”

Phil sighed, but gave in. “An hour maybe?”, he said, still not looking at Dan, “I'm not sure, I didn't really pay attention. I didn't expect for the ride to be _interrupted_.” He shot Dan another short glare, but this time it was only half-hearted.

An hour wasn't much. Dan's calculations about being close to Dragon territory should be accurate.

Neither of them said anything else. They continued walking, both of them looking out for any road signs now, but they passed none. The sun slowly started to set, turning the sky into a mix of pink, purple and orange colours. Dan had never been a sentimental kind of person, but he couldn't help but think back to this morning when he had woken up in a dark room, expecting to never see the sunlight ever again. It was probably for that reason that the sunset tonight looked particular beautiful and memorable to him.

They had walked for almost an hour when finally Dan was able to make out a small signpost in the distance, giving direction to the nearest cities. Their steps grew remarkably more vivid, as both men were eager to find out where the hell they were. They approached the sign. Dan's heart was beating fast in his chest. This signpost held the truth to how good his chances of escaping were. What he saw made his heart stop.

Oxford.

Dan sensed how Phil next to him froze. He looked over to find the other person staring at the sign, eyes wide in shock. Dan, too, felt slightly numb, but for the exact opposite reason. Oxford. They weren't _near_ Dragon territory. They were still _in_ it.

Phil took a few steps back, then forth again. He spun his head in all directions, as if he expected for Dragons to pop up from the fields at any second.

“We're going back”, he declared all of a sudden, but his voice sounded anything but certain.

_No!_ Dan thought, _anything but that._ He forced a snicker.

“Alright”, he pronounced, faking confidence, “let's wait by the road until the next Dragon supply car comes to Oxford. We shouldn't have to wait long for that, so that would probably be the fastest way to meet my friends. I'm surprised none has passed while we were still by the car, considering how long it took us to get going.”

It was a very bold lie. Truth was, there was hardly any communication between the different Dragon cities, unless any of them urgently needed something. But he knew by now that Phil easily fell for his lies regarding Dragon strategies. And indeed, the way Phil's shoulders slumped showed Dan that he had argued the other man out of it.

Apart from going back, there were two paths to take from where they were standing. One was straight ahead, in the direction the 'Oxford' sign was pointing. The other way would lead them even more south. Dan felt confident with both of them.

It took Phil about another minute of vigorously turning his head, clenching and unclenching his fists, visibly torn between the different options that could all end in a possible capture for him. Eventually, he squared his shoulders and looked at the path that lead straight ahead, slightly north.

“We're continuing, that way”, he said determinedly, walking away from the signpost and pulling Dan with him.

“Really? Straight to Oxford?”, Dan chuckled. This time, it was no attempt to manipulate his captor, he was just pleased with the entire situation and felt like letting it show.

Phil gritted his teeth. “We'll go north first chance there is”, he snapped back, “long before we arrive in the city.”

Dan didn't respond, but the grin remained on his face. He'd never felt more confident about actually making it home than at this moment.

They continued walking, one of them more relaxed than before, the other constantly on the edge, no longer looking out for road signs but for any sign of people. They walked for almost half an hour, however, without coming across either another person or a turnoff that would allow them to go north. Dan sensed how nervous Phil got the longer they walked. He prayed that his nerves wouldn't make him change his mind and turn around after all. Dan wished he knew how get him to relax, but he had never really calmed someone down before. He decided to stay quiet instead, unsure of what words would be helpful.

The sun was almost set, only the last rays of sunlight illuminating their way, so they didn't see the houses until they were almost right in front of them. Phil jumped, about to turn on his heel and head the other way, but Dan slightly tugged on the rope to grab his attention.

“Look”, he said, pointing at an old sign, partly overgrown and the writing barely readable anymore, “it's not Oxford yet. That town is way too small.”

Phil carefully stepped closer to the sign, still ready to bail at any moment, as if reading the word 'Oxford' alone could curse him. But as they neared the sign, it turned out that Dan was right. Phil plucked off some of the moss and read the words that appeared out loud.

“Islip – please drive slowly.” He furrowed his brow.

“Never heard of that town before, but it doesn't sound very much like a big city to me.” Dan shrugged. He wasn't even lying, it really did sound like it was only a small village in front of them, probably abandoned. After the war, most people from smaller places had left their homes and gathered in the big cities. Without electricity and cars and the entire _system_ gone to hell, it had just been too difficult to survive out there in the countryside.

Phil still looked like he was just waiting for the disaster to unfold. “No”, he said and shook his head hesitantly, “No, we're not gonna risk it.”

“So what's your plan then? Walk through the fields? And sleep there? Plus, I don't know how much food you've packed but my guess is that it won't be enough till Manchester.” Dan shook his head, more energetically than Phil. “Not a good plan, mate. Listen, these houses are 100% abandoned and our only chance to get some proper rest tonight. You know as much as I do that we'll need it.”

Phil eyed him suspiciously, searching for any sign that Dan was putting on an act and trying to lure him into a trap. But the tiredness in Dan's eyes – because really, he _was_ tired – must have convinced him. Phil let out a sigh and nodded.

They approached the houses. Phil was still nervous, but Dan could see his tiredness as well. He seemed to have accepted the fact that entering the village was a risk and that if it actually was inhabited, there'd be no way for him to escape.

But it only took a close look at the first house to know that Dan had in fact been right. Nature had taken over complete control of the front yard, several windows were smashed and not a single light was on, despite it almost being completely dark outside by now. The next houses didn't look any better.

Dan felt a pang of disappointment in his chest. He'd expected it, yes, but there had still been a small amount of hope, that maybe this nightmare could be over just a day after it had begun.

It really was a small village though. Only two minutes after encountering the first houses, they found themselves standing in the centre of the village, a green area in front of them and a large church towering in the background. They stopped for a short moment. It had probably been a beautiful spot once, before people had been forced to abandon this place and let nature take over. Now this place looked wild and sad, each plant and each building giving off the feeling of something once treasurable that had been cast aside and forgotten. Dan had never seen the aftermath of the war out here on the countryside, never left London again after coming there one fateful night almost eight years ago. He wondered what his own village looked like now. Probably a lot different than this. The part of him that had noticed Phil having a similar reaction next to him wondered if the other man had an abandoned childhood home, too.

It didn't take too long, however, before Phil started moving again, detaching them from the cheerless scenery in front of them. He walked towards the nearest houses and stopped by one that still had all its windows intact. Dan watched as he kicked the door in, the old lock giving in easily under the applied force.

They stepped through the entrance, somewhat carefully even though there was no reason to be. This place had clearly been abandoned for years. It was dark and Dan already felt uneasy, but – as many times before already – he did his best to hide it from Phil.

Phil entered a room to their left which turned out to be a living room, Dan, who had no other option than to stay close to him, followed right behind. Phil led him to a couch and gestured for him to sit down. Dan was too tired to offer any resistance. After his usual words of warning, Phil stepped closer to him and untied his wrists. The idea of escaping briefly shot through Dan's mind, but the thought of running through an abandoned ghost-like town in the dark sounded like it hailed from one of Dan's worst nightmares. He hated himself for his irrational fear of the dark, and as much as he wished to not be Phil's prisoner, he had to admit that the Lion's presence was somehow familiar enough to calm him down.

The backpack was removed from Dan's shoulders and he stretched his them in relief. Of course he was not granted much time to enjoy his freedom, as Phil wasted no time and retied his arms to a metal rod that was part of the sofa's armrest. To Dan's surprise, Phil used his upper arms instead of his wrists to secure the rope to, probably to grant his wounds a break. Also, he left a long part of the rope between his arms, meaning Dan was actually able to move his arms around mostly freely. If he stood up, he could probably even walk a step in each direction around the armrest. Phil pulled on the rod to ensure the years of neglect had not made it become brittle. Judging it secure enough, he got up and carried the backpack to the other side of the room, too far away for Dan to reach.

He then pulled a torch and something that Dan recognised as a water purifier out of the back. Water purifiers had become a big thing not too long after the outbreak of the war. When the water supply system had crashed on a regular basis and the rain had often been contaminated by radioactive fallout, the government had distributed big water purifiers to different neighbourhoods all over the country to ensure the provision of clean drinking water. The purifiers cleaned water from most dirt and radioactive particles, making it reasonably safe to consume. Over time and out of necessity, smaller and more efficient versions had been created and sold. After the war had reached its peak and chaos had erupted, no new ones had been produced, making the already existing ones incredibly valuable. Dan wasn't surprised that Phil as a gang member had one, though.

Phil got up and turned to Dan. “Stay there”, he said and Dan let out a snort because really, what else could he do. Then Phil switched on the torch and exited the room leaving Dan behind.

Dan longingly looked to where the beam of light had disappeared, leaving him once again in complete darkness except for the faint moonlight shining through the big windows on the side of the room. He could hear Phil rummaging through the house, quite apparently not bothering to be quiet, but Dan was grateful that even if he couldn't see anyone around, at least he _heard_ that he wasn't alone in here.

Out of habit, Dan checked the rope that kept him in place. It was fastened at the bottom of his upper arms in a place that he could only reach with his respective other hand but not with both hands on one side. He tried untying it with one hand, but it seemed to be some crazy advanced knot that required both hands to undo it. He tried reaching it with his teeth, too, but it was like trying to lick your own elbow and soon his neck hurt from the effort. He pushed and pulled on the ropes to slip them over his elbows, but somehow the rope blocked itself from moving down. With a sigh he leaned back on the couch, accepting that he was no match for Phil's master tying techniques.

He heard the other man going through each cupboard in a nearby room, shuffling things around, walking upstairs, walking downstairs, turning on the water purifier and sometimes quiet grunts or small noises of joy. Dan listened to these sounds that for some reason seemed to calm his mess of nerves down. It was so different from when he'd been in the dark room in the Lions' apartment, where every small sound had made him jump because he'd had no idea what had been going on. Here, it seemed... domestic, almost? Knowing that Phil was there, preparing for the night, walking around comfortably in a house that he'd declared _theirs_ for one day.

Dan sat on the couch for quite a while, almost falling asleep, when all of a sudden Phil returned, two glasses of water in his hand. He put them on the coffee table, one in front of Dan, one on the opposite side. He disappeared right after, only to return with two plates of hot, steaming pasta. He set those on the table, too, along with two forks. Finally, he took a seat across from Dan, making himself comfortable on an armchair. The torch was placed on another chair next to him, shinning its light on the table.

“Sorry”, Phil said, a bit shy almost, “Pasta was the only food I found here that probably isn't expired by now. Like, there was sauce and cheese and stuff, but I'm not sure if we'd still want to eat that after lying around for seven years.” He chuckled nervously. “So yeah, the pasta is a bit dry. Sorry”, he repeated.

Dan stared at him. He hadn't been sure about how much food he'd be getting at all, especially after behaving like a dick the entire day – hell, he'd almost _killed_ Phil only a few hours ago – and now Phil was apologizing because he only single-handedly made a full plate of pasta for him? The man was a mystery to Dan.

Phil noticed his stare and added quickly: “Oh yeah, and you can drink the water, I cleaned it. And it's just water. Nothing else. If you still believe me after... well.” He let out the same nervous chuckle as before.

Dan pressed his lips together, not sure how to interpret Phil's behaviour. Phil was usually not an awkward kind of person who overly apologized. Or was he? He didn't know the man at all.

Dan mumbled a quick “Thanks” before he ducked his head and started eating. It didn't even cross his mind that the food could be poisoned or the water could be drugged, it wouldn't make sense for Phil to do that, unless he had a really twisted way of getting revenge, which Dan doubted. 

Of course Phil was right and the pasta tasted rather dry without anything added to it, but for once, Dan didn't feel like complaining. When he finished his water, Phil got up without him saying a word to get more. It was like back at the apartment when the Lions had been so cold and threatening, yet taking care of all his needs as if it was self-evident. Dan had still not figured out if how those two completely opposite behaviours worked hand in hand for the northern gang.

They finished the meal quietly and for the first time, the silence between them seemed awkward to Dan. He felt like he should say something, compliment the food or thank Phil for taking care of everything tonight, but he wasn't sure how to express himself without making it even more awkward. In the end, he just stayed silent like he always did when he didn't know what to say.

Phil got up and took away the used plates. At this point, Dan was almost embarrassed for not helping at all, even though it really wasn't his fault that he couldn't. When Phil returned, Dan willingly let him change his bonds – seriously though, how often had Phil tied and untied the rope in one day? – and lead him upstairs.

They first went into the bathroom. By now, Dan was both too tired and too used to it to even care about Phil being there with him. He finished his business rather quickly, still avoiding Phil's eyes out of embarrassment though and they stepped into the hallway again. All of a sudden, Phil stopped in his tracks. He turned to Dan, suddenly looking at him suspiciously again.

“So”, he began warily, “there's two bedrooms in this house. I'm willing to grant you privacy and let you sleep on your own, but only if I can trust that you won't try anything funny while I sleep in another room.”

“What”, Dan raised his eyebrows,“you're not gonna tie me up over night?”

“Of course I am”, Phil grumbled, “but I would have to leave you alone for a few hours and probably not hear you if you somehow managed to actually escape. I'm a heavy sleeper you know...” Phil stopped in the middle of his words and bit on his lip, as if he had not meant to say all this out loud.

Many different emotions whirled through Dan's mind. He doubted that he would be able to escape even if he tried all night, he was not Houdini, even if Phil apparently thought so. He probably could convince Phil to let him sleep alone. He could have a nice rest. Without his kidnapper. Alone. At night. In a dark room. Something in his chest tightened.

Before he was really able to think about it, the arrogant look was back on his face and he stared down at Phil tauntingly.

“You seem to be very sure of yourself, about how much I _like_ ”, he spat that word out, “you.” Dan used his annoying voice. The one could easily drive people crazy, manipulating them into doing exactly what Dan wanted. “To think I wouldn't try to escape. You'll see where that attitude gets you when you wake up tomorrow... to me being gone.” He'd meant to say 'with a sliced throat'. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to say it though.

Dan could tell by the look on Phil's face that his words had exactly the desired impact on him. His eyes narrowed and his look on Dan turned angry.

“Wrong answer”, he hissed, “too bad you're so insolent or you could have actually had a chance to sleep alone tonight. But not like this.”

Like that, Phil turned around and pulled Dan behind him into a large bedroom at the end of the hallway.

Dan knew he shouldn't feel relieved. He shouldn't _want_ to sleep in the same room as Phil. He hated Phil. He did. But there was something else, some other feeling that Dan couldn't quite identify. Something like gratitude. Phil had treated him worse than any other person recently and he hated him for that. But Dan couldn't deny that he'd lived a lonely life with no friends and no one who ever did anything nice for him. This also made Phil the person who'd treated him _better_ than anyone else recently.

Dan swallowed all these mixed feelings, clearing his mind of anything that wasn't focused on the here and now. His confused emotions were impossible to make sense of anyway.

Phil led him to the king-size bed in the middle of the room. He tied his arms to one post at the front end of the bed, giving him a little freedom to move around, but not much.

Dan couldn't help but make a snide remark at that.

“Tying me to the bed now, huh? How kinky”, he sneered.

“Shut up”, Phil grumbled. It seemed to have become one of his favourite things to say to Dan. Not that Dan could really blame him for that.

Dan sat up for now, his bonds allowing that much freedom. He watched as Phil went out of the room, probably to use the bathroom himself. He came back not much later, carrying the backpack and put it down in the corner of the room. Dan noticed that Phil was wearing glasses now, another thing about the other person that Dan never would have guessed. Phil switched off the torch and stored it away, which left the room pitch black except for the little light that came in through the window. Phil then went over to that window, fumbling with the blinds, attempting to close them.

“No!” The word escaped Dan's lips before he could stop it.

Phil turned around. The moonlight illuminated his face, allowing Dan to see the questioning look he was giving him.

“I mean...”, Dan stuttered, “could you...er... not close that? Please?” He was glad that he sat in the dark now, his reddening face most probably not recognisable to Phil.

“Why?”, the other man simply asked.

“Just because... without the torch it's the only source of light in this room.”

Dan braced himself for the inevitable further questioning, or even laughing if Phil would be able to draw his conclusions right away.

But Phil simply stepped back with an “Oh. Okay!” and left the window as it was.

Finally he came over to the bed, put his glasses and his Lion Claw on the bedside table on his side and with an almost adorable sigh, lay down. He turned to look at Dan who was still sitting upright.

“Are you gonna stay like that the entire night?”, he asked, but with a hint of laughter in his voice.

Dan grumbled and shifted until he reached a lying position, his back turned to Phil. It was a bit awkward with his hands secured above his head, but he knew he couldn't complain. Phil could have also made him sleep on the floor if he'd wanted to.

There was a rustling behind him and suddenly he felt the duvet being thrown over his body, covering him. Another rustle, and when Dan cautiously looked behind him, he saw Phil back on his own side of the bed. Just like Dan, his back was turned towards him.

A warm feeling appeared in his chest, not big, but noticeable enough for Dan to swallow. Phil didn't have to do that. Sure, Dan couldn't have covered himself because his hands were tied, so it was nice of Phil to do it for him, just... how was it possible to be that caring? To look out for Dan and do things for him without Dan having to ask for them, despite them being enemies?

Very soon, Phil's breaths evened out and Dan could tell the person next to him had fallen asleep. Dan, however, although he was incredibly tired, lay awake for another while. Many things raced through his mind, everything from how this day had started tied to a chair in his enemies home to now, still tied, but laying in a bed together with said enemy, in the middle of nowhere. Of course, the only reason they shared a bed was because Phil didn't trust him enough to let him out of his sight, but still. This was the first time he would casually sleep in a bed with someone else since... well, probably since he'd left home. Not London this afternoon. His actual home.

Dan forced his mind off those memories before his sorrow threatened to overwhelm him. He concentrated on the even breaths behind him, the only sound breaking the otherwise absolute silence of the deserted village. If someone had asked him the day before if he'd ever felt like exploring the abandoned countryside, he would have probably answered _I'd rather die_ or something similarly dramatic. Dan let out a quiet, humourless laugh upon recognizing the irony of this situation. He knew how incredibly lucky he was to be here right now instead of all the way up north in Manchester. Manchester. His heart sank again when he thought about the dreadful city and everything he associated with it.

Somewhere in Manchester, there was probably an empty cell right now, one that would be occupied had he not managed to prevent their arrival in the city. Somewhere in Manchester there were shackles that were not secured around his wrists and ankles right now. There was a table he was not spread across. Knifes and other gruesome instruments that were not covered in his blood. Manchester right now was probably as quiet as this place, without his screams piercing through the night.

There was a movement behind Dan and the bed creaked as Phil turned around in his sleep. Dan looked behind him again to find the man facing him now. The moonlight shining in from the window allowed Dan to see every feature of his face. He looked peaceful, happy almost.

A feeling of bitterness rose inside Dan's chest. Of course Phil could be at ease in this situation. _He_ had not only barely escaped days of torture leading to his inevitable death. Dan sunk deeper into the bed and closed his eyes. Phil may have been nice to him. But that didn't change who he was and what he was still trying to do. Getting Dan to Manchester. To hell.

Feeling cold towards the other person once again, there were no more confusing feelings that kept Dan from falling asleep.

Still, it was the steady breaths in the background that calmed Dan down enough to drift away, but he was too far gone already ponder over it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: I'm not British and all my geographical knowledge in this fic comes from google maps, so I'm sorry for any inaccuracies.  
> If anyone feels like retracing their way, they took the M40 from London up north and crashed where it crosses River Ray Otmoor. Then they took the Middle Street west and landed in Islip. According to Wikipedia Islip is a village with 652 inhabitants so there is only a _veeery_ small chance that anyone reading this is from there, but hey, if you are, you can now pretend that dystopian Dan and Phil broke into your abandoned house and spent the night there. Yay.
> 
> This chapter had a lot more fluff than the last ones, so I'm curious to hear your opinions on that. Just don't get all too comfortable with the fluff just yet...


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A month without updating she comes back with a chapter...  
> Sooo this chapter took me FOREVER to write, so sorry, I've been really busy lately and with the new semester starting, it won't get much better until July I'm afraid. Also I'm still not 100% satisfied with this, but I wanted to give you guys an update. Also did I mention that this story is going to be so much longer than I thought? DnP were supposed to be much further by now but well, I suppose we all have to be patient...
> 
> **Warning:** This turned out to be a lot heavier than I thought concerning war-realted topics, so be careful if you think anything there might trigger you (I've updated the tags a little).
> 
> Other than that, I hope you enjoy this little chapter :)

Dan woke up before Phil. Strangely, he wasn't confused but knew where he was right away, as if his brain had already accepted that waking up in his own bed was a thing of the past. He wondered if he would ever get used to it though.

Phil wasn't snoring, thank god, but instead Dan heard the same deep, even breaths that he had fallen asleep to hours before. He carefully turned far enough to look at the man lying next to him. The sight of Phil sleeping was almost adorable. He was still facing Dan, but somehow in the course of the night he had gotten himself all tangled up in the duvet, legs sticking out and a part of it pressed against his face with his arms wrapped around it, like he was hugging it. His face still looked peaceful, but unlike last night when it had made Dan angry how the other man could be so at ease, Dan thought that now Phil looked somewhat vulnerable. Sleep was a funny thing, how it could make even violent kidnappers look like harmless, normal people.

Dan deliberated waking Phil but he decided against it. With the sunlight coming through the windows he was no longer anxious about being in this abandoned house – well, at least a lot less than last night – so there was no need to interrupt this precious moment that he had all to himself.

He averted his eyes from Phil and turned around again, leaning back into his pillow and taking some deep breaths. His back hurt a lot this morning, probably from the impact of the car crash the day before. Also his sore wrists were throbbing violently. He'd had worse though.

If it wasn't for his hands still being tied to the bedpost and the unfamiliar, musty smell of the house – mixed with just a hint of the already slightly familiar smell of Phil – he could almost pretend to be home again. Like none of this had happened, like he would soon get up to get ready for another regular day of fighting his gang's wars and trying to avoid other people as much as possible, until he could hide in the safety of either his apartment or his favourite pub.

While Dan would give anything to get out of his current situation, he didn't exactly want to be back in his old life either. He wished he could just keep lying here forever, no responsibilities, no killing, no interacting with people. Just the comfort of a bed and rhythmical breaths from somewhere behind him.

For a while, his wish was granted. But of course, it couldn't last forever. After about an hour of enjoying the silence, Dan heard a groan from the other side of the bed, telling him that Phil had woken up.

He didn't move as he heard the other man tossing and turning in his half-asleep state, like he, too, was refusing to face reality just yet. Eventually though Phil audibly groaned again and got up. _Clearly not a morning person_ Dan couldn't help but remark in his mind.

Phil shuffled into his field of vision and their eyes met.

“Oh, good, you're awake”, was all Phil said before he left the room.

Dan heard sounds from the bathroom before Phil came back, straight to him. They went through the same old procedure of untying and then redoing the rope around Dan's arms, followed by their usual trip to the bathroom. Neither of them said anything, both too sleepy – and probably too awkward, too – to hold a conversation.

They went downstairs and Dan was sat in the same spot as the evening before. When Phil returned the next times, he brought fresh water and two plates of some nasty looking brown mush. Dan carefully sniffed it and the vile smell confirmed his suspicion.

Apart from water purifiers, nutritious food had become one of the most needed things during the peak of war and after it. A special, artificially created food had been invented to keep the British population from starving. Although it tasted awful, it held all the nutrients the body required and thus had become a requirement for survival when food had started to run short. Dan supposed it was quite practical on their journey now when they couldn't be sure to find something to eat everywhere. He still hated the taste of it. Not only was it disgusting, but it also reminded him of the time before he'd been a Dragon and had access to the gang's supplies. The time of war, and fear, and eventually the time when he'd been left with nothing.

He knew he didn't have a choice though if he didn't want to starve. It was the same sentiment that had gotten him to eat that mushy stuff before, when he'd been younger and hunger had made him shove anything down his throat.

He forced it down, and by the looks of it, Phil didn't enjoy the food any more than he did, but neither of them were immature enough to complain.

When they were done eating, Phil put their used dishes away, went upstairs again and came back with a piece of paper that turned out to be a map of England. He unfolded it on the table and studied it with a concentrated face. At first it seemed to Dan like he was actually drawing conclusions about where they were, but when Dan took a closer look, he noticed how much Phil's eyes were randomly jumping to different parts of the map without a clear trace.

Breaking the silence that had lasted the entire morning so far, Dan decided to speak up again.

“Still, no idea where we are, huh?”

Phil jumped just a little, like he had already grown used to the quiet. He shot Dan a quick glance and proceeded to stare at the map. Dan already thought he wouldn't get any answer at all when Phil suddenly cleared his throat.

“This village, Islip, is too small to be on the map”, he stated without looking back at Dan, “I think we've already passed Oxford, so just going north from here should be fine.”

“So you really wanna walk all the way to Manchester?”, Dan asked, curious now as Phil seemed to be in a mood to share some of his plans.

“I would prefer walking back to London as it's much closer, but the shortest way is the M40, the exact road I'm trying to avoid”, he replied grumpily, “the shortest detour north-east of it is still pretty long, we might as well go straight north instead. And well, for obvious reasons we can't go south-east from here”, he added with a humourless laugh.

Dan's heart grew heavy all of a sudden. He knew Phil wasn't just talking about avoiding Oxford. He averted his eyes from the map. He didn't need it to know what was south of Oxford.

Not noticing Dan's sudden change in mood or blaming it on his plans of not returning to London, Phil continued his monologue.

“We don't have to go all the way to Manchester though. We just need to make it to Birmingham, where the Lions will help us... help _me_ to get you further north.”

Dan shook off the depressing feelings that once again had crawled up on him and focused on Phil instead. On his own plans to escape. Birmingham sure was closer than Manchester, but it would still take them several days, especially if they wanted to avoid the main streets. Another thought crossed Dan's mind.

“Do we even have enough food to make it there?”, he asked, eyebrows raised

“I think so. But we should make use of all the left-behind supplies we can find, just in case.”

Phil's voice sounded calm, as if he was talking about the weather for the next days and not potentially running out of food. If they made it straight to Birmingham without any further incidents it would be fine. But so many things could happen on their way, they could get lost, they could injure themselves and be forced to slow down or even rest for a few days. If that happened in the middle of nowhere, getting something to eat would slowly turn into a serious problem. Phil had to be aware of that. Still, he so generously shared everything with Dan.

“You should just kill me”, Dan found himself saying without knowing why, “or leave me behind. You'll have better chances of making it and not being found by Dragons without me.” It was very stupid of Dan to say this, especially since it was true. If they ever were to get near Dragons, Dan would do his best to attract their attention and immediately out Phil as a Lion. Dan would only be a big inconvenience to Phil.

His words finally made Phil look up from his map. “Are you going to tell me what you did to Louise, right here and now?”, he asked slowly.

It was the first time in a while that he'd brought that topic up. Dan swallowed. He knew there was no point in telling Phil again that he didn't know anything about it, so he settled for a simple “No”.

His heartbeat sped up. Would that answer upset Phil? Would he realise that Dan would never give him that information? Would it actually make him kill Dan right on the spot?

But Phil just went back to studying the map.

“In that case”, he simply said, “I have to bring you to Manchester.”

“You risk your own life by doing that”, Dan pointed out. It wasn't a threat, just simply stating the facts. He should really stop talking.

Phil shrugged. “Perhaps”, he responded, “but as long as you're our best chance at finding Louise and Manchester is our best chance at making you talk, I'll do whatever it takes to get you there.”

Dan stayed silent after that. Phil could just kill him and tell everyone Dan had died in the car crash. Or attacked Phil. Or tried to run. Phil was smart enough to think of an excuse to tell everyone else and ensure his own survival. But he put his mission first. Not out of loyalty, Dan realised, but because he cared that much about his friend.

Dan wondered what it was like. Caring so much about someone, that you would risk your life for them. Or the other way round. Knowing there was someone out there who cared so much about you that they would risk dying for you. What would it feel like, to know that people would miss you? Dan didn't know. He'd never had anything even close to that.

While Phil studied the map, Dan passed the time by studying Phil's face. His fringe was slightly pushed back now so Dan was able to see the bruises and scab on his forehead that had most likely been caused by the car crash. The wound itself didn't look too big, apparently it had just bled a lot, but Dan felt guilty anyway. He had badly hurt people before, for the Dragons, especially members of other gangs. Seeing those injuries on Phil shouldn't make him feel different, but somehow it did. For the first time, he had tried to kill someone. And it hadn't even been by order of one of his superiors. It had been his own decision, for the sole reason of saving himself. Just what kind of person had he become?

Done with looking at the map – Dan wasn't sure whether Phil had actually figured something out or just given up – Phil folded it neatly back together and went away again, leaving Dan alone with his gloomy thoughts. It wasn't long, however, until Phil returned with their backpack, looking like he was ready to leave.

Dan wasn't. If it were up to him, the two of them could have stayed forever in this house where responsibilities didn't exist and – apart from the fact that Dan was Phil's prisoner – gangs didn't either. But he knew that he should make an attempt to escape soon and it would be much easier on the way and knowing where he was than in here.

Phil held up a towel.

“I found this and figured you'd like this around your wrists more than my pants”, he said with a small grin.

“No way, there's nothing I'd rather have touching my skin than your underwear”, Dan responded sarcastically and realised only a second too late what that sounded like. His cheeks flushed but Phil merely grinned a little wider and wrapped the towel around his wrists and started working on his ropes again.

When they were all ready to leave – of course the backpack was on Dan's shoulders again – they stepped out of the door, Phil first and Dan being led by the rope right behind him.

It was a sunny day, not quite the summer weather that would be expected for this time of the year, but fortunately not the rain that was just as typical for English summer. 

They wandered through the labyrinthine streets of Islip for a bit, Phil leading the way. By the time they'd managed to find a road leading out of the village, Dan was pretty sure they were walking west instead of north, judging by the position of the sun. But Phil looked too confident and happy to have noticed and Dan wisely did not point it out to him.

They left the village behind and the road led them through the wilderness of the fields that no one had taken care of in years. It was completely silent aside from their own footsteps and breathing that grew heavier the longer they walked. Every now and then they had to walk uphill as the road lead across a river or another road, which left Dan exhausted pretty quickly. He had never been very fit, in contrast to his other gang members he never worked out – or even moved more than he had to. Fortunately, Phil didn't seem to be much more in shape than he was and their walking pace matched quite well.

They'd walked for about an hour until they met the next spot of former civilisation and Phil noticed that something about his calculations had been wrong. They'd arrived in another abandoned village, though bigger than the last one, and Phil had taken the map out of the backpack to check the name. Apparently it was actually big enough to appear on the map and after minutes of searching, he'd let out a triumphant cry, followed by a frown as he studied their position on the map further.

He looked at Dan in confusion.

“Wait, where does the sun rise again?”, he asked, uncertainty in his voice.

Dan raised his eyebrows. “What, you think _I_ will help you to figure this out?”, he responded cockily.

Phil didn't seem angry at his response but just continued to stare at Dan with the puzzled look on his face.

“No, I'm pretty sure it rises in the east!”, he said weakly, “and since we kept in on our right-hand side, we should have walked north from Islip. But why are we so far west now and still so close to Oxford?”

Dan's habit of being a smart-arse won over his completely logical strategy to let Phil get lost and walk them both right back to Oxford.

“Well actually,” he started while rolling his eyes, “we slept in quite a bit and it was definitely already noon by the time we left, so the sun was actually south.”

Phil took a while to process this. “But then”, he finally concluded, “walking with the sun to the right should have led us back to where we came from.”

Now it was Dan's turn to be confused.

“But the sun is to our left. And has been this entire time”, he pointed out.

“What do you... Oh!” Phil's eyes widened. “You're right.”

“Wait, did you really just confuse left and right this entire time?” Dan wasn't sure if he should be amused, hopeful or terrified by it. With his sense of orientation, this guy would either lead them right into Dragon territory or get them hopelessly lost in the woods forever.

Phil's face turned slightly pink, but he didn't look too embarrassed about it, as if he was already used to these kind of mistakes.

“Ok, so we have to go...”, Phil made some weird hand motions as if he needed them to orientate himself in his head. “... to the right now.” He took a few more seconds until he turned to a direction that – to Dan's great disappointment – was actually his right side.

He stopped after only a few steps though and turned back to Dan.

“Actually”, he said, “We've been walking for quite a while now. Let's take a few minutes to rest.”

He guided them to a nearby bench and sat down, Dan next to him at a bit of an awkward distance. He was glad for the break as his feet had started hurting by now – nothing he would admit to after walking for only an hour, although he was pretty sure it was just the same for Phil.

The silence between them was awkward. They hadn't talked much all day, but now they didn't have the excuse of being occupied, either with waking up, preparations or just walking. They just sat, staring at the tree in front of them, avoiding it to look at each other.

It was Phil who broke the silence at last.

“Well, that first night wasn't too bad, was it?”

Dan glanced at him. “Which part”, he asked, “The shitty food or when I was tied to the bed the entire night?” He knew that he was being unfair. Phil was right, it could have been much worse. He just didn't feel like having small talk.

Phil sighed. “Right, sorry.”, he mumbled, “I sometimes forget that this whole situation must be even harder for you than for me.”

“Oh, you think?”, Dan remarked sarcastically and lifted his tied wrists, but truth to be told, the sincerity in Phil's voice surprised him.

Phil lowered his gaze. He picked up a twig from the ground and started to poke and scratch the ground with it. “I think a lot about Louise and Martyn and the others”, he said and Dan wasn't sure whether it was more to himself than to Dan, “And how important it is that I don't screw this up. And how scary it is to walk off into the wild like that” The twig had left a small furrow in the ground by now. “But it looks like we're gonna spend some time together now and you should know I realise how scary it must be for _you_.”

A million thoughts raced through Dan's mind. Some of them were surprised by the honesty, some of them touched by Phil's kind words. Some were bitter, because it didn't matter how considerate Phil was now if he was still getting Dan to Manchester.

Out of all the possible responses, Dan himself was surprised about which one left his mouth.

“This travel is scary to you?”, he asked, actually curious.

It was true that Phil had been uneasy at the thought of being caught by Dragons before, but other than that, he'd always been quite determined in leading their way and taking care of their needs. It hadn't occurred to Dan that walking through the deserted countryside could be frightening to both of them.

Phil let out a humourless laugh.

“You've just witnessed my terrible sense of orientation first-hand”, he replied, “finding my own way through no man's land is like the worst possible situation for me.”

Dan had the feeling there was more to it than Phil told him, but this time he decided not to push.

After a short silence, he said instead: “Well, I did not expect this conversation to end up like this.”

Out of the corner of his eyes, Dan could see Phil give a weak smile at that.

“Well”, Phil responded, “as I've told you before, I'm lousy at conversation starters but it gets interesting with me eventually.”

The flashback to when Dan had first met Phil in the pub hit him hard and all the previous warm feelings turned into ice.

Phil must have noticed his reaction as he immediately retracted.

“Sorry. This, uhm”, he stuttered, “that night probably doesn't hold the best memories for you.”

“You think so?” The sarcasm had found its way back into Dan's voice again. “Just because you lied to me for hours and pretended to care about me only to drug and kidnap me? You...”

It shouldn't bother Dan so much. He shouldn't care so much about what an asshole Phil had turned out to be. Yet he had to stop talking before his emotions threatened to overwhelm him.

Phil stayed silent for a while.

“It wasn't all just lies and pretending”, he eventually said quietly.

Dan didn't respond to that. It didn't matter. Either Phil was lying, or he was a sick person who actually enjoyed being entertained by his victims before kidnapping them. Dan wasn't sure which one was worse.

They both kept sitting on the small wooden bench for a while, the silence between them uncomfortable again. Eventually, Phil murmured something about continuing and they both got up and went back on their way.

This village, Kidlington as it had said on a sign, was much bigger than the one they'd stayed in the previous night. Also, it was the first houses they saw in broad daylight. It was probably a combination of both of these reasons that this village looked even sadder than the one before.

It was just too easy to imagine the life that had filled these streets once. Light behind the windows of the houses they passed, couples walking down the street, children running through the doors of the primary school that stood proudly at the side of the road.

Dan wondered where these people, these children were now. Had they survived the war? The ongoing gang wars? Had they, in their desperation, even joined a gang, just like Dan? He averted his eyes from the decayed school sign and stared straight ahead, hoping they would leave this ghost village behind soon.

Maybe it was only his imagination, but it felt like Phil's steps next to him were speeding up, too.

They followed the main road north. It took another half an hour until they left the last houses behind them. Dan hadn't even realised how tense he'd been until he felt himself relax once it was wild grown trees and bushes framing the street again.

His ease didn't last long, however, when all of a sudden the street they were walking on was just... gone.

They neared the giant hole where the street had once been carefully, fearing the asphalt close to the edge might come loose and let them fall to their deaths. They could still see the rest of the street about twenty feet from where they were standing. But given the fact that they were standing on a bridge and the great hole disconnected the two parts completely, it was unreachable to them.

“You think the bridge collapsed over the years from neglect?”, Dan heard Phil ask from next to him.

If Phil had ever witnessed the aftermath of a bombing – and Dan didn't doubt for a second that he had – he already knew the answer, so Dan didn't bother to answer.

It was rare for the countryside to suffer bomb attacks, cities with a dense population and important infrastructure were much more interesting goals for the enemy to focus on, so Dan was a bit surprised to see a crater like that out here. His mind went back to the village they'd just crossed. Suddenly the idea of the former inhabitants being involved in the gang wars seemed much more pleasant than before, if at least it meant they had made it out of here alive.

They had no choice but to walk back and follow a street leading west, then north again. Soon, after a bit of zigzag walking, they found the reason why this area had been a target for bomb attacks during the war. A big sign saying 'London Oxford Airport' was pointing towards a big building at the side of the road.

They neared the building – or what was left of it – with a downhearted, pained feeling. There were entire areas in London that looked no better, destroyed to the point that you could no longer tell what purpose the building had served before. But Dan was used to it in London. It matched the city's aura of violence and hate. He had never known it any other way.

Out here, it felt wrong to see such kind of destruction. Everything was destroyed and broken, too, but in a different way. Neglected, but untouched because only nature had been allowed to destroy what humanity had left behind, which held a ghostly beauty on its own.

This chaos right here was ugly and violent and had been created by humans.

They walked through the building, slowly, letting their eyes wander as if they could somehow grasp the horror of what had happened here. Only when Dan saw something that looked like a bloody, decomposed arm hanging over an overthrown seat did he stop looking around.

They walked closer together than usual. In the face of these terrors, they were neither Dragons nor Lions. They were simply two men left in a world where things outside of their control had brought hell on earth and now they had to deal with the aftermath.

The landing field outside was even worse. Huge craters made it look more like the surface of the moon than a place where aeroplanes could land or take off. Broken plane pieces lay scattered everywhere. Dan decided to not inspect the man-sized fragments all too closely.

Phil seemed to have an even harder time than Dan. Other than Dan, he couldn't stop staring at the mess around them. Instead of walking faster to leave this place as soon as possible, he slowed down until he was just standing there, eyes wide and fixed on a collection of smaller planes that were mostly destroyed, some of them heavily twisted and crashed. A small figure had crashed through the front screen of one of the planes and hung there, lifelessly.

Dan waited a little for Phil to do something. Like he always did. Determined and with a perfect plan, that was how he'd gotten to know the other person. But after almost thirty seconds of Phil's trance-like stare, Dan realised that something was wrong.

“Phil?”, he asked carefully.

No reaction.

“Phil?”, he tried again, a little more insisting this time.

When Phil still didn't move, Dan carefully reached out and touched the other man's shoulder. Phil immediately jumped, as if he'd only just been reminded of where he was. He looked at Dan wide eyed, a mixture of so many emotions in his eyes it was hard for Dan to identify them all. Confusion. Surprise. And... was it sorrow?

“Phil?”, Dan stammered, unsure of what to say now, “uhm... err... are you okay?”

He felt stupid asking that. Not only because Phil was obviously not okay, but also because Dan never asked questions like that. He was the annoying kid, the loner who completely shut others out because it was easier to live that way. Nobody cared about him and he didn't have to care about anybody else.

There was just something about Phil, something about the way he actually _did_ seem to care about Dan sometimes. Seeing him vulnerable like this for the first time made Dan feel like he had to show the same sympathy to Phil, even if he wasn't sure how.

But Phil seemed to have shaken off whatever dark feelings had overcome him and he squared is shoulders, the usual resolved look on his face.

“I'm fine”, he said, but it sounded a bit too flat to be fully convincing. “Thanks”, he added with a side glance to Dan.

He started moving again, walking towards the other side of the landing field. Dan stayed next to him. It was almost like before Phil's weird reaction, except for two things. One, Phil's walking pace was much faster than before, Dan had to actually make an effort to keep up with him. And two, Phil's empty stare into the distance never glanced back to the destruction around them anymore.

There was so much tension, Dan was glad when they'd reached the end of the field and found another road behind it leading them further north. There were still holes in the asphalt of the street, but as long as they didn't look to their right, at least there were no more plane parts or bodies.

Dan let out a long breath when the road took a turn away from the airport. It took a bit longer until he felt the tension leaving Phil next to him as well.

After ten more minutes of walking, Phil spoke up again.

“Do you think any of them survived?”, he asked quietly, his voice grave and mixed with something Dan had never heard there before. He wasn't sure what it was, but it matched the look in Phil's eyes earlier.

Dan thought about the question. Phil hadn't specified what he'd meant, the village or the people in the airport. He didn't have to, though.

There was no way for Dan to know what exactly had made Phil react like that to the mess on the field. But even without knowing his backstory, Dan could tell what kind of answer Phil needed to hear.

A part of Dan wanted to give him that answer. It was the same part that had asked Phil if he was okay that wanted to tell him now that surely some of the people had made it out of there. They couldn't all be dead. The bombs certainly hadn't hit everyone. No way the building had crushed every person within.

But there was another part of Dan, the part that still felt too shocked by what they'd just seen. This part knew that giving the answer that Phil wanted to hear wouldn't do justice to the massacre that had happened in that place years ago. It would mock the people who had died there.

It was that part which won through.

“No” was all Dan said. His emotionless voice matched Phil's efforts to hide his feelings.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he looked at Phil. The other man just nodded, his face expressionless save the tears that shimmered in his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I see little hints at their backstories there? Hell yes!  
> It's a slow burn so it'll take a while until they will fully open up to each other but I CAN'T WAIT to share their full backstories with you!
> 
> As I said, I'm not entirely satisfied with this and somehow this is so heavy? But worry not, next chapter is gonna be a bit more fluff again. And maybe more backstory hints? Who knows. We'll see. I'm excited!
> 
> Please let me know what you think, after all this time I'm craving your comments ;)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, well, well, who would have ever thought there would be an update on this one, eh?
> 
> So I'd like to apologize to everyone who's been waiting on a new chapter while I just left without ever explaining myself or going on an official hiatus. I was busy writing my Bachelor's thesis for three months which I clearly underestimated (cause I like writing, so that shouln't be too bad and I could do some fanfic writing every now and then in between, right? - Well, I was WRONG! Scientific essays SUCK! They SUCK the life and enjoyment of writing right out of me!!) So yeah while that was a big source of stress for me for a while I kind of just needed a break from writing alltogether to rediscover my liking for creative writing that doesn't have to please anyone but ME.
> 
> So yeah, it took forever, but here's a new chapter, wohoo! And it's quite a long one, too!
> 
> You will find that's this chapter is quite a rollercoster, which is probably a very accurate represantation of my current moods (note to self: discuss with therapist), but here you go, hope you like it :)  
> Also there is a very **mild nsfw** in here, so be warned.
> 
> New chapters should be coming more regularly now, I can't promise anything but at least it's not gonna be as bad as the wait for this one...
> 
> Enjoy :D

After the incident on the landing field, the silence as they were walking was no longer just awkward. It was suffocating. Phil's emotional distress did not seem to get any better and it was making Dan very uneasy. He told himself it was because Phil could be unpredictable whenever he was in a bad mood. But somehow, he knew there was another reason.

He had seen Phil angry. Annoyed. Stressed out. But that was fine. It fit the image of the cunning kidnapper, the ruthless enemy that wanted to hurt Dan. It made it easy to hate him.

But seeing him sad somehow felt... wrong. It made him seem vulnerable, in some way emotionally closer than even in his kind moments. Like there was a part of shared history that connected them, even if they hadn't spent it together. Hell, Dan didn't even know what had happened to Phil in the past. All he knew was that everyone who was still alive had been through some tough shit. Everyone he'd met had a story to tell. He'd never cared before. That's just how it was, in their post-apocalyptic world.

Phil was probably the last person he should care about. But despite everything, Phil's grief was troubling him.

He looked around, searching for a distraction. He pointed to the next best sign he found.

“ _Blenheim Palace_ ”, he read out loud, “didn't know they had fancy places like that here.”

Phil glanced in the direction Dan was pointing for a second, then continued to stare on the grey asphalt in front of him.

It didn't take long until the wall to their left made way for a big, extravagant gate. Or at least that's probably what it had looked like years ago. Now, one was left to imagine the chunks of missing stone and nifty decorations that had probably once made it look worthy of the entrance to a palace's garden.

Dan pointed to the side once again.

“You reckon the palace is over there?”

Phil shrugged and kept walking.

Dan hesitated. He had never really tried to cheer someone up before and he could tell that he was rubbish at it. But he would not give up that easily. Not for the man who, despite the circumstances, had worried more about Dan's comfort than anyone else those past years.

He stopped in his tracks, which finally got Phil look at him.

Dan nervously shuffled on his feet. He didn't want to upset Phil, a circumstance that usually didn't end well for him. But he really wanted to do something good for someone, just this time. He took a deep breath and pointed his thumb to the gate.

“You... er... wanna check it out?”, he stuttered.

Phil narrowed his eyes.

“Why? Friends of you living there? No thanks”, he hissed and impatiently tugged at the rope.

Dan's shoulders slumped and he averted his eyes. He had tried, but quite apparently he was no good at making people happy. He could annoy people to get what he wanted. Maybe that was the only strategy that worked for him.

“I just thought... I just thought it would be nicer than the last place. Get our mind off it. Never mind though”, he mumbled defeated and set forward again.

To his surprise, Phil didn't move. Dan shot him a quick glance. Phil was staring at the gate now, an unreadable expression on his face. Dan didn't dare making another noise. Had he actually convinced him? Had he changed Phil's mind by... being honest?

Eventually, Phil sighed.

“You're right”, he said. Dan couldn't believe his ears. “Let's see something nice for once.”

With that, Phil turned to the gate and followed the path leading inside. Dan stumbled behind him, still too shocked that Phil had actually given in to his request to say anything.

The garden was tremendous. It looked wild, like any piece of grassed area they had come across so far, but the many wild flowers and the afternoon sunlight made it look very beautiful for once.

All of a sudden, Dan got nervous again. What if the palace had become a victim of the war, too? What if looked sad and degenerated and made everything only worse? He glanced over to Phil, but the other man was just eyeing the flowers with what looked like a nostalgic expression.

Fortunately, Dan's worries were proven wrong.

Despite the usual look of abandonment, the palace still stood proudly in front of them, not much different than any other historical building in Europe. Many thick walls that looked like they were built to outlast much more than some human war enclosed several inner courtyards before leading the two men to the main building.

For the umpteenth time, Dan and Phil just stood there, looking in awe at one of the many beautiful yet left-behind places in the country. A post-war world did not care much about beauty. For the first time, Dan thought it should. Maybe it would give people more hope for the future.

“Oh my god, that is _gigantic_!”

From the sound of it, Phil actually seemed to be impressed by the palace. Dan could absolutely understand why. It _was_ gigantic. With its massive, yellow stone walls and elegant window frames it looked quite intimidating, its entire aura was not broken and defeated like all the other places they'd seen but rather proud as if nothing in the world could take away its grace.

“Do you think the door is unlocked?”, Phil asked and without waiting for an answer he made his way to the enormous entrance.

Dan wanted to retort that it probably wouldn't hurt anyone if they'd just smash one of the already cracked windows, but for once he actually stayed quiet. Phil was still tense but he already looked so much better than before they had entered the palace grounds, Dan didn't want to ruin the mood. Plus, destroying something here would somehow feel like a sacrilege. He followed Phil to the entrance door, not really having a choice there, but he, too, was a little curious about the insides of the palace.

The door was not locked, but over the years the material had gotten rusty and distorted. Phil pushed against it with his entire body, and after watching for a few seconds, Dan decided to help. The wing of the door wasn't even that wide, so he stepped right next to Phil and threw his body against the hard door.

Suddenly, he became painfully aware of his unusual physical closeness to Phil. Their shoulders were almost touching, if they turned their heads, their faces would only be centimetres apart. It was so much closer than they usually were when walking next to each other through the countryside. Dan kept his gaze locked to the door, forcing his mind to concentrate on getting the door to open and nothing else.

Their combined body weight moved the door ever so slowly, until it was open wide enough for them to squeeze through.

“Thanks”, Phil panted.

Dan didn't respond, not openly acknowledging how they'd just worked _together_. It wasn't supposed to be this way. It wasn't supposed to make him _feel_ this way either.

It was only when they were both already stood inside, Phil wandering off to look at the imposing interior décor, that Dan realised he had had the perfect chance to go for the Lion Claw on Phil's belt. Phil hadn't even suspected anything, he'd been entirely focused on opening the door. No way his hands would have been fast enough to reach the knife before Dan would have had his hands on it and drive it straight in the other's chest.

Or, well, at least cut the rope or something.

Dan shook his head, half angry and half embarrassed about how he'd missed such an easy opportunity. _Oh well_ , he thought to himself, _it's only the second day. If Phil's already this careless, there will be more chances before arriving in Birmingham or Manchester or wherever_.

He followed Phil, who was absolutely mesmerised by the many paintings, antique furniture and gorgeous decorations. Dan was too. Although it was all very dusty, the colours faded and some holes here and there indicated to new, non-human inhabitants of the palace, it was still incredible. Dan had never seen anything like this in his entire life.

They walked through what felt like hundreds of pompous corridors, halls and chambers, one more imposing than the other. Phil led their way, excited like a little kid at Christmas. And while Dan couldn't get enough of looking at the beautiful interior of the palace, his eyes always kept wandering to Phil for short moments.

The palace was pretty, but seeing Phil this happy and excited – it made Dan feel... warm. And calm. Watching Phil who had gone from utterly downhearted to absolutely joyful, he could almost believe that he, too, could let go of his worries for a while and just be careless and happy. Just for a little bit.

After strolling around for what must have been at least an hour of time, Phil walked over to the bed of the room they'd just entered and let himself fall flat onto it with a grunt. Dan, inevitably being pulled with him through the rope, could only barely avoid landing right on top of him.

“Oh my god, I'm tired”, Phil moaned.

“I think we spent more time walking through this palace than actually continuing our way today” Dan commented, exaggerating but not missing an opportunity to nag. He silently agreed, though, that he was exhausted. He was no way near fit enough to walk for an entire day.

“You know what? We're staying here tonight!” Phil looked at Dan with an excited grin on his face.

“Already? It's only early afternoon!”, Dan pointed out, internally cursing at himself for not being able to keep his mouth shut. He really wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere after all.

Luckily, Phil just ignored him and jumped back on his feet, as if all fatigue had suddenly left his body again. “Who knows what kind of places we'll be staying in the next few days”, he said, shaking his head, “might as well have it nice tonight!”

Dan couldn't help but grin a little. His own excitement, however, was only very short-lived when Phil pulled him over to the nearest bedpost to tie his wrists to it.

“Alright”, Phil said, “you stay here while I search the palace for things we might need. Sorry for the lack of mobility for you, I'll be back soon”, he added, almost apologetically.

Dan would never understand this guy.

Phil took the backpack from Dan and went back the way they came from. Dan rested his head against the bedpost – the rope too short to even lie back properly – and closed his eyes. It had only been a few hours since they had left their little house in Islip but so much had happened ever since. 

He could feel the tiredness in every bone of his body. Still, his mind was buzzing with mixed emotions and confused feelings about his day. About Phil. A man that, even though Dan got to know him more and more, became more and more of a mystery to him.

Dan wasn't even sure if he was glad to be left alone for a while. It wasn't dark yet so that wasn't a problem. And he liked being alone. But somehow, even after this short time, he'd already gotten used to the other's presence. Phil was like a beam of energy. Not because he himself was energetic, but rather because he made people around him feel more alive somehow. Dan had never met anyone like Phil.

Plus, without Phil's presence here there was nothing to distract Dan from the repressed thoughts crawling up on him.

He stared at the old painting in front of him to get his mind off whatever thoughts were fighting their way to the consciousness of his mind. It was a portrait of some ancient, rich looking man who had probably once lived in this place.

“Just what the fuck is this mess that I've gotten myself into?”, Dan asked, immediately blushing when he realised he'd said it out loud. But Phil was already long gone and naturally, there was no one else around to hear him. Only the framed image of someone who had left all of his worries behind on this earth long ago.

He kept staring at the portrait as if the man on it held the answers to all of Dan's suppressed worries. Blank eyes stared back at him. With the colour having faded over the years, the shade of blue looked surprisingly similar to Phil's blue eyes. Or maybe Dan was just imagining it. Because he was confused and couldn't think straight anymore even for a second.

“Fuck you”, he growled at the portrait, feeling stupid for talking to a literal painting, but relieved to get those words out.

“Of course _you_ never had these kind of problems, did you?”, Dan continued talking, like swearing had opened some dam in his mind and now he couldn't stop the flood that was about to come anymore. “You were some rich fuck living in a palace surrounded by money and luxury and people being nice to you. Your biggest problem was probably something like _'Oh no, I wonder how many of my friends actually like me for me or how many women are only after my title and money_. Well guess what, asshat! At least you had a safe place to live without fearing to be tortured to literal fucking _death_ before long. At least you had people _pretending_ to like you around you. So the first person in your life that's actually nice to you for once even if he's supposedly your enemy won't suddenly make you feel this... this... this fucking mess inside your brain.”

Dan didn't know at what point he'd started to yell. He didn't know when those tears had started forming in his eyes either.

“You just fucking lived your life in a palace like it's oh so nice and died surrounded by your f-family and knowing you'd made something out of your life. You didn't just live because... because you feel like you owe it to those who didn't make it.”

Dan's voice trailed off. He didn't know what exactly it was that had made him think of his family just now. Phil, the village they'd passed today, the post-war-scenery they'd seen or just the latest events in general. It all stirred things up inside of him; anger, sadness, joy, the memory of love, of being loved...

He pathetically sobbed into the bedpost. Some part of him screamed to get himself together, as Phil could come back any second now. But his mind was too far gone already.

He wasn't sure how long he'd cried for. Eventually, the tears all dried and he just stayed in his position, forehead resting against the bedpost and breathing heavily.

Phil had still not come back and Dan was thankful. Thankful for the break he'd gotten to let some of the emotions out that he had to hide in front of the other person. He still was no wiser than before about anything concerning his situation, but at least his mind was clear now and he felt capable of spending another few days in the other man's presence without going absolutely crazy.

He wiped his dried tears on the sleeves of his jumper. It was time to be strong again. Or at least to pretend to. Like he always did.

Phil didn't come back for another while and eventually Dan got bored. He could only examine every single object in the room so many times before he knew every single detail about it, had created his own story about it and the people who used to live here in his mind and had successfully concluded what all of his favourite video game characters would make of it.

After an eternity – which probably wasn't even that long but Dan couldn't remember the last time he'd been _this_ bored – Dan heard a voice. Very distant. But someone was shouting something. _Ariel?_ No, it was two syllables. _Tangle? Handle?_ Dan listened closely.

Oh.

“Phil?”, he shouted back as loud as he could.

A pause. Then-

“Daniel?” This one already sounded closer than the last few calls.

“Phil I'm here!”, Dan shouted again.

“I'm coming!” Phil yelled back and Dan could even make out footsteps in the hallway now.

Dan kept shouting the other's name every now and then to lead the way, until Phil came bursting into the room, looking relieved and incredibly exhausted at the same time.

“Oh here you are”, Phil groaned and – once again – let himself plump onto the bed.

“Right, like I'm not exactly where you left me”, Dan remarked sarcastically.

Phil let out a snort.

“This place is way too big. How did the people who used to live here find their way around?”, he asked, almost pouting.

“Maybe their sense of orientation is just not as terrible as yours.”

Phil snorted again.

“Yeah, I suppose that doesn't take much. So anyway,” Phil propped himself on his elbows and looked at Dan, “I got a pretty good idea of this palace now. Did you know that this is where Winston Churchill was born?”

Dan raised his eyebrows, beckoning Phil to continue with the more interesting parts. Although his joy _was_ kind of adorable.

Phil got the hint. “Yeah, anyway”, he continued, “I found the kitchen and the food supplies. Again, most of it has gone bad so dinner will be a bit bland again, but at least we won't have to eat mush tonight.”

Dan nodded. It felt so weird yet so familiar to hear Phil discuss their evening dinner plans as if they'd been travelling together for much longer than just barely two days.

“Water purifier is already running, too. There's a giant lake behind the palace. God, the people who lived here must have been so lucky.”

Dan's mind went back to his outburst earlier before Phil had returned. He didn't doubt those words for a second.

“Well”, Phil continued, “for now, let's get you to the bathroom.”

And with that, Dan's wrists were free again – well, not _free_ but at least no longer tied to that god-damned bedpost – and they were off.

As it turned out Phil had found a map of the interior of the palace, so he only got lost twice before the two of them stood in the most luxurious bathroom Dan had ever seen in his life. Colourful tiles, golden tabs, a wooden floor and a big bathtub standing in the middle of the room. Not even the two inches of dust on every surface could take away from the beauty of this place.

Dan finished his business rather quickly – by not he'd gotten the hang of how to do it with his wrists tied together – and when he turned around he saw Phil pulling out a bathrobe from one of the cupboards on the wall.

“So, uh”, Phil stuttered, which made Dan suspicious. After having accompanied Dan to the bathroom that many times, what could possibly make him nervous now?

“I was thinking...” Phil cleared his throat. “I was thinking this would be a good opportunity to wash our clothes. I mean, honestly, we should.”

Dan looked down at himself. Phil was right. The aftermath of their mud-wrestling the day before was still clearly visible.

“So uhm”, Phil continued, “maybe we could change into these for now?”

He handed the bathrobe to Dan and then actually untied his wrist completely for once. He took the rope and the towel that still did a good job of protecting Dan's sore wrists and made a few steps backwards, his face red as a beet again. Only then did Dan understand what had made Phil so nervous.

“Well then _leave_ the bathroom!”, Dan said, shocked.

“I'm not just gonna leave you in here unattended”, Phil squeaked, not breaking eye contact but the pitch of his voice revealed he was not entirely comfortable with this situation either. But the hand that had wandered to the Lion Claw on his waist showed his priorities.

“There's literally only one exit.”

“Not if you count the windows!”

“I'm not getting naked in front of you!”

“I won't look!”

“Then what difference does it make?”

“I mean I'll watch you, I just won't... _look_.”

“Oh, sure, right!”

“I've basically already seen everything anyway.”

“No need to remind me.”

They both stared at each other for a few seconds. Eventually Dan resigned, threw the bathrobe on the floor and turned his back to Phil.

“Whatever”, he mumbled.

He pulled his jumper over his head as quick as he could and winced a little when the motion made the bruises all over his back ache again. He pulled off his shoes and sock and took a deep breath. Without thinking too much about it, he pulled his jeans and pants down in one swift motion and tried to get out of them as fast as possible. Just why did he always have to wear skinny jeans?

His gaze fell onto the big mirror on the wall to his side which allowed him to see Phil. Said person's face had somehow flushed even more and he stared intensely at some fixed point on the ceiling. Still, Dan didn't miss the very quick glance down that went just a bit too low to be a casual check if Dan was still behaving.

Maybe he should feel upset about Phil checking out his bum. Maybe he should feel uncomfortable about it.

For some strange reason, he didn't.

He grabbed the bathrobe from the floor and finally covered himself again. He turned around to find Phil still staring at the ceiling, only slowly lowering his gaze back to Dan.

“Er... good, you're done. Now. Sit down next to the bathtub and put your wrists next to its foot.” 

Dan did as he was told, not feeling like provoking a physical conflict when his robe could easily be very revealing. Phil neared him carefully with a fresh towel in his hands and tied everything together, wrists, towel and the foot of the tub. No chance for Dan to escape.

“Wait here till I've changed, too.”, Phil said insistingly, then got up again.

Dan raised his eyebrows. “What, you're not gonna change in here, too? I think that would only be fair!”

Phil didn't bother to answer that. Wordlessly, he grabbed another bathrobe from the cupboard. Dan deliberated saying something about what he'd seen. He decided to tease Phil a little more.

“Don't think I didn't see you staring at my ass just now”, he said nonchalantly.

Phil froze. Dan grinned. He had regained the upper hand.

Phil turned around with the fabric in his hands, his face a deep shade of red again.

“I didn't... I haven't...”, he stammered.

“It's okay, Phil. After all, who could resist a cute ass like mine”, Dan teased some more.

Phil's hands clenched around the bathrobe. “I... don't know what you're talking about”, he spluttered and with those words he was out of the door, slamming it shut behind him.

Dan sighed. He leaned against the tub and stared at the door. It was fun seeing Phil flustered like that. It made him seem more like a person than his enemy. Even though that was no reason to no longer see him as that. His enemy.

Phil came back a minute later, wearing the same bathrobe as Dan, his dirty clothes under his arm. Dan tried not to think about how they were both naked under those robes.

As a distraction, he decided to tease Phil some more.

“Back for more of me and my cute little ass?”, he asked innocently.

“Shut up”, Phil retorted.

“Come on, I'm sure you liked it.”

“I'm sure you did, too!”

This caught Dan off-guard. He hadn't _actually_ enjoyed it. He just... hadn't minded either. But Phil didn't need to know that.

“Fucking pervert”, he hissed, all of his defence mechanisms on alert.

Luckily, Phil didn't say another word as he grabbed Dan's discarded clothes from the floor and then freed his wrists from the tub, leaving them only tied together as usual. They left the bathroom and wandered through the palace in silence.

To Dan's surprise, Phil didn't take him to the kitchen to eat. Instead, he led him to the front door where they had entered the palace earlier.

The afternoon sun stood a lot lower already, the shadow of the massive western wing stretched far across the inner courtyard; a sign of just how much time they'd spent inside the palace. As it was summer, Dan knew the sun would still not set for another few hours, and Phil must have been aware of this, too. Surely there would have been enough time to travel on until the next village and spend the night there.

But Dan wasn't complaining.

They didn't take the path back to where they had come from. Instead, Phil led Dan straight on to what looked like the front gate, consisting of several long metal bars that were pointed at the top, probably intended to keep undesired visitors out. During the past years of neglect, however, the hinges had completely rusted and one wing of the gate had fallen on the ground, as if it had come to accept its uselessness in this abandoned place.

They both stepped over it and followed the road through the park until Dan could make out water on both sides of the street. In the shadow of a tree that had probably only survived due to the water masses right next to it stood the water purifier, pumping water from the lake into a big tub. The backpack leaned against the trunk.

“Feel free to wash your hands”, Phil offered and pointed to the tub, “also the water in the bucket is already clean, so you can drink some.”

Dan noticed the smaller bucket behind the tub, filled with water. He hadn't even noticed how thirsty he was until now, but the walking today – even if it had only been for a few hours ultimately – and crying earlier had left him quite dehydrated.

He washed his hands and face in the big tub and then filled his hands with water from the bucket, which he gulped down eagerly, again and again.

When he looked back up, Phil had already dumped their clothes into the tub, shoving them underwater while watching them with a sceptical expression.

“You don't look too confident about that”, Dan observed.

Phil sighed.

“The water is pretty cold and all the soap that I found smelled pretty bad like it's expired or something. But maybe we can at least get all those mud stains out”, he explained, not changing his doubtful expression.

After a few more seconds of poking their dirty laundry and watching it slowly soak up with water, Phil got up and tied Dan's rope to the tree behind them. He then sat down next to him, close enough to still be in the tree's shadow, but leaving enough space between them to not make things awkward.

“And now?”, Dan asked.

“We wait a little for the clothes to soak up the water. Then I'll try to get them as clean as possible, given our circumstances.”

“And I just sit here?”

“I mean, yeah.”

“Why didn't you just take my clothes then and leave me on that bed, n-” Dan bit his tongue before the word 'naked' could slip out. They'd already had that awkward conversation today.

Phil didn't answer.

“Or were you just scared you wouldn't find your way back to that room a second time?”, Dan teased again.

“I just thought... Maybe we could both use some company”, Phil said quietly, staring at the lake ahead and avoiding Dan's gaze.

That left Dan dumbstruck. The idea of someone wanting his company was new to him.

“I mean”, Phil continued hastily, “I can understand if you don't want me around, with all that... kidnapping and stuff. I mean... I should have thought about that, sorry. I'll get you back to the palace.”

Phil scrambled back to his feet.

“No it's fine”, Dan replied quickly, before he even knew what he was saying.

Phil froze in his movement. For the fist time in the last few minutes, he actually looked at Dan. Now it was Dan's turn to avoid his gaze.

“It's... fine”, he simply repeated, his voice as quiet as Phil's had been earlier when admitting to wanting Dan's company.

“Okay” was all Phil said before slowly sitting back down again.

They both sat in awkward silence for a while, not looking at each other. The whirring of the water purifier and the new water splashing into the tub were the only sounds.

Finally, Phil broke the silence.

“Maybe we could use this time to get to know each other a little more. I mean we barely know anything about each other”, he said. Was there some nervousness in his voice, or was Dan imagining things? He cast a quick glance over to the other person, but Phil was still staring straight ahead, his face not giving away anything.

Despite their situation, Dan couldn't bring himself to believe in a trap.

“Sure!” was all he replied. Was there nervousness in his own voice now?

“Like, I don't even know how old you are”, Phil said as if to convince himself that this was a normal, casual conversation they were having.

“Twenty-one”, Dan answered truthfully. He had deliberated lying for a second, but there was no reason to. There was no point either, if he was soon to be tortured until he would spill all of his secrets anyway.

“Wow, you're young!” Phil actually sounded surprised, and a little shocked maybe. He finally met Dan's gaze. “You must have been really young when the war started.”

“Six.” Dan bit his lip, unsure just how much he wanted to share with Phil. “I don't really remember the time before. It was always just the war and then... this.”

Phil nodded. “I was Ten. I remember a bit, but... it's more the memory of _emotions_ than actual pictures. Everything was so much more carefree.”

Dan swallowed. He'd never talked about his his past before. He'd never thought anyone would understand. Out of all the people he'd met in the past few years, how could Phil be the one saying things that resonated so much with him?

They both fell silent again, partly dwelling on memories of the past, partly just unsure how much they wanted to share about themselves.

Again, it was Phil who broke the silence.

“Do you still have family?”

“No.” 

“No one?”

“No.”

“Oh.”

Dan wondered if lying would have made Phil feel more guilty about kidnapping him. If the mental image of crying parents missing their son would have convinced Phil to let him go. But Dan knew that sustaining this lie would have been too painful for him. Not when it was so far from the truth.

“I'm from Reading”, he reluctantly added after a short break.

The realisation of what it implied, the understanding, the pity, it all washed over Phil's face in the span of a few seconds.

“Oh.” was all he said again.

There really wasn't anything else to say.

The atmosphere had become even more tense and awkward now, but Dan didn't care anymore. He leaned back against the tree trunk and closed his eyes. He was tired. He didn't want to discuss the past anymore.

Not with Phil. Not with anyone.

He heard some movement next to him and a mumbled “gonna look after the laundry”, followed by a splashing sound and a muttered curse.

He opened his eyes to find Phil leaning over the tub, trying to roll up the water-soaked sleeves of his bathrobe and failing miserably. After a few minutes of struggling, Phil just gave up and dunked his entire arms including sleeves in the water.

Dan watched in mild amusement as Phil tried to scrub the mud off the dirty clothes first with his bare hand, then with his fingernails.

“You haven't done laundry very often, have you?”, Dan asked. He didn't even mean to tease Phil, it was more of an observation.

Phil just grunted unhappily.

“Was there no brush or sponge or anything in the palace?”

Phil looked slightly embarrassed. “I don't know”, he admitted.

Dan snorted. “What, you didn't look for one?”

“Well at least I found the tub to so the laundry in!”, Phil defended himself, but it sounded like he had already admitted defeat in this argument.

“And what were you gonna do the laundry _with_?”, Dan asked, a mocking undertone in his voice.

“One step at a time!”, Phil retorted but finally gave up trying to get the stains out with his fingernails. He looked over to the palace. “God, I really don't feel like walking all the way back and searching that gigantic dinosaur of a building for a brush.”

Dan snorted again at Phil's dinosaur analogy for the palace.

“Honestly”, he remarked, “it's a miracle we even survived two days with your planning.”

“Shut up!”

Phil plunged his hand into the water again, but when he pulled it out again he swiftly jerked it in Dan's direction, splashing slightly brown water all over him.

Dan squeaked. A loud, high-pitched, embarrassing squeak that revealed just how much Phil had taken him by surprise there.

If looks could kill, Dan would have finally been free from his kidnapper, who let out a long, victorious – and kind of adorable – giggle with his tongue pushing out from behind his teeth, not at all minding the angry stare he was getting from Dan.

_Oh, just you wait!_ Dan thought and stretched out until his foot reached the tub. He then sent a massive wave of water in Phil's direction, watching proudly as a big part of it hit the other right in the face. Now it was Phil's time to squeal.

What followed was a short but very intense water fight, that ended with Dan kicking the tub so hard it toppled over and all of the remaining water and their laundry landed in Phil's lap.

“Ha, suck it, loser!” Dan cried out in victory as Phil squeaked again and quickly rolled out of the puddle that had started to form under him. He stayed lying in the grass a few meters further, giggling like a small child.

Dan couldn't blame him. A few little laughs escaped his own lips as he kept lying where he was, completely soaked but feeling more light-hearted than he had in a very long time.

Once more silence fell between them, but this time it was a completely different type. It was the kind of silence that you get when you feel so content for the moment that no words are needed, like after a really good meal, or a really big accomplishment.

To Dan, it felt like he had accomplished something. Not knocking over the tub and winning the childish water fight against Phil. Something else, which he couldn't quite put his finger on. Feeling happy?

Phil sat up again, taking off his glasses and trying to find a dry spot on his bathrobe to wipe them on.

“I hate you!”, he sighed as he twisted his back and rubbed his glasses against the back of his robe, but there was no actual hate behind his words, so Dan just let out another laugh.

“I was doing you a favour. You could really use a shower, you know?”

“Speak for yourself”, Phil grumbled.

Phil put his glasses back on, still slightly wet but apparently it was the best that his soaked robe would allow. He put the tub back in place with the laundry in it and made sure the water purifier started filling it again, before turning around, facing the castle.

“I'll see if I can find more bathrobes. Dry ones.”

“Go ahead, I'll wait here.”

“About that...” Phil walked up to Dan again. “Get up and sit against the tree.”

Dan shot him an annoyed look.

“No thanks”, he replied, “I prefer lying here.”

Phil shook his head.

“I can't really leave you like that while I'm away for so long.”

“The rope around my wrists is already tied to the tree.”

“A knot you could easily undo.”

“You're underestimating your knotting abilities”, Dan muttered but got up reluctantly, knowing that arguing with Phil on that was futile.

Phil undid the knot on the tree trunk and used the long rope to wrap it around both Dan's torso and the tree once Dan's back was rested against it.

“This is so cliché!”, Dan complained, “Tying me to a tree. What's next? Getting a horse and putting me in the saddle right in front of you so we can ride into the sunset with the evil Dragon-Cowboys on our feet?”

Phil laughed. Another short but genuine laugh. Dan felt like he could get used to that sound.

“I'll be right back”, Phil promised, pulling tight on the rope until Dan felt like there was no way he'd be moving anywhere from here – or breathe all to heavily for that matter. He could feel the rope being secured and then heard the quiet footsteps through the grass moving away from him towards the palace.

_And again I am alone_ , he thought. Alone to wonder how to deal with this mess of a situation.

It was like the moments with Phil came crashing into his gloomy, peaceful mentality like a whirlwind, leaving chaos in his mind and even more questions every time without ever answering a single one of them.

The emotions he had repressed for so long, Phil made him feel all of them in a matter of minutes. Anger, annoyance, sadness, loss, joy, fun, ease – it was too much.

He stared into the distance. The scenery calmed him down a bit, the smooth surface of the lake, the trees near the waterside that stood strong and healthy, like nothing could ever bend them. If only he could be like that. Rooted to the ground, unshaken no matter what kind of wind would come. Not even a storm called Phil.

The sun already started to lower over the trees in the west when Phil finally came back, dressed in a new bathrobe and another one in his hands.

“Time to change again”, he mumbled as he untied Dan's torso from the tree but secured his foot instead so Dan couldn't run away. At least he turned around this time, without a word from Dan.

“Done”, Dan declared when he had slipped into the new robe, passing on any kind of remark on the situation.

He got bound back to the tree and then watched as Phil turned his attention back to the laundry.

“Oh crap”, Phil exclaimed, looking mildly upset, “I forgot the sponge in the palace.”

“At this point I'm surprised you didn't forget me out here over night.”

“Maybe I can use the side of the tub...”

Phil looked completely lost while he tentatively rubbed the dirty clothes against the inside wall of the tub. Dan sighed.

“Try rubbing the clothes against each other”, he offered.

Phil applied this new advice to his careful washing attempts.

“Ooh, it works!”, he pronounced happily after a while. “How do you know these tricks?”, he asked.

Dan shrugged. “I lived on the street for a while. You learn a thing or two there.”

Phil gave him another one of his pitying looks.

“Dragons let their members live on the street?”, he questioned.

“No, that was before I joined the gang. As a Dragon, I can get anything I want.”

“So you haven't been a gang member for long?”

“Yes, I have. I was just quite young when I was homeless.”

“So after...”, Phil fidgeted with the laundry in his hands.

“After my family died, yes”, Dan completed the sentence for him.

Phil swallowed. “I see.”

He dropped the subject and Dan was glad about it. He continued to watch Phil doing laundry, which actually turned out alright given the circumstances.

The sun was already disappearing behind the trees when Phil finally deemed the clothes clean enough and hung them over the branches of the trees nearby. He grabbed the water purifier, backpack and Dan's rope and they made their way back to the palace together.

Their meal was short, Phil had cooked some rice that he had found which was plain but surprisingly good. They didn't talk much, seeing how most conversation seemed to end in uncomfortable topics for them, but Dan was fine with that. It was getting late, and he was getting tired.

They stopped for a bathroom break – taking a piss with hands tied was _so_ much easier and less embarrassing in a bathrobe, honestly – before crashing in the closest bedroom they found.

Like last night, Dan's wrists got tied to the headboard, but Phil took the time to cover him with the duvet again, a gesture that Dan still appreciated.

Despite being so tired, he still couldn't fall asleep right away. Judging by the short breaths next to him, Phil was no better.

Just when Dan started to slowly drift away, Phil spoke up again.

“I'm sorry”, he whispered.

“What for?”, Dan asked sleepily. Judging by the way Phil slightly jumped, the other man had not even been sure that Dan was still awake.

“For today. When... I didn't mean to, really, and I only looked for a second, I swear!”

It took Dan a moment to figure out that Phil was talking about when he had changed into the bathrobe before going outside.

“Oh. It's... okay.”

“I know you didn't _enjoy_ that. It was a stupid thing to say because I was embarrassed. I'm sorry.”

Dan was glad Phil couldn't see the blush forming on his cheeks.

“It's fine. I... About saying you're a pervert. I don't... actually think that.”, he stammered.

“Thanks!”

It took a few more minutes for Dan to calm down again, but once he did, he finally managed to let the chaotic worries of reality rest for a bit and fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, thanks to everyone who actually still read this! There was some more backstory in here, a little more than I originally intended, but the big part of it is still coming in future updates. Also I'm going wayy too much into details, how tf is this story already 7 chapters long but only two days have passed from the beginning to where they are now?? Thank you for your patience if you're actually reading all this. 
> 
> Please tell me what you think! Every comment boosts my motivation to get a new chapter up as soon as possible :)

**Author's Note:**

> I made a tumblr just for my AO3 account! So for updates on my fics/working progress follow [thedalmatian](https://thedalmatian.tumblr.com/) on tumblr :)


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